Street Works

John Spellar: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what progress is being made on reducing disruption and congestion caused by street works.

Rosie Winterton: The Department has made regulations for Permit Schemes under the Traffic Management Act and revised those for Registers, Notices, Directions and Designations. These come into force on 1 April 2008. Associated codes of practice have also been issued. "A Good Practice Guide to Managing Works in the Street" was launched in May 2007.

Sector Skills Council: Licensing

Tim Boswell: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills pursuant to the answer of 19 November 2007,  Official Report, column 573W, on sector skills council: licensing, whether the Commission for Employment and Skills will be taking over from the Sector Skills Development Agency all its licensing functions; and whether the relicensing programme for sector skills councils will be a rolling process.

David Lammy: The Commission for Employment and Skills will be responsible for providing advice to the relevant Secretaries of State across the UK about which Sector Skills Councils (SSCs) should receive a new license. The new licences will be issued by the Government.
	The re-licensing of SSCs will be an early priority for the Commission, The intention is that the re-licensing of SSCs will be completed by the end of 2009, No decisions have been made about the review of licenses beyond 2009.

Bangladesh: Overseas Aid

Lynne Featherstone: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what proportion of funding for the  (a) first and  (b) second phase of the humanitarian response to the cyclone in Bangladesh was paid directly to non-governmental organisations.

Shahid Malik: The UK Government have provided £7 million for Cyclone Sidr relief in Bangladesh. At least 90 per cent. of this will be channelled to non-governmental organisations (NGOs) for immediate and short to medium-term needs, with the remainder for disaster management coordination and operations.
	The first tranche of £2.5 million was allocated through United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) to local non-governmental organisations (NGOs) to provide immediate assistance in the form of food, clean and safe water, medical treatment, and housing repairs.
	An additional £2.5 million was announced by the Secretary of State on 23 November. This will be programmed through three international NGOs: Save the Children UK, Oxfam GB, and CARE, to focus on short to medium-term needs such as water, sanitation and hygiene promotion. A further £2 million announced by the Secretary of State on 28 November, will also be allocated to support the short to medium-term response by improving access, provision of non-food items such as blankets, disaster management coordination, and the restoration of livelihoods. A significant proportion of this money will be programmed through NGOs, such as Oxfam GB for the provision of non-food items and BRAG (Bangladesh Rural Advancement Committee) for livelihoods.

Colombia: Overseas Aid

Colin Burgon: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what proportion of UK assistance to Colombia is provided for projects which are not related to the Colombian security forces in 2007-08.

Shahid Malik: The parliamentary ombudsman has upheld the UK Government's decision not to make public precise details of our counter narcotics assistance, as to do so would jeopardise the effectiveness of that dangerous work and the safety of the British and Colombian personnel involved. As such, it is not possible to say what proportion of UK assistance to Colombia for projects was not related to the security forces.
	DFID channels most of its development assistance to Colombia through the World Bank, the EU, Inter-American Development Bank (IADB) and the UN. DFID trust funds with IADB specifically support six current projects in Colombia: citizen monitoring in urban governments, presidential town meetings, strengthening the auditor general, supporting community councils, job promotion in cities, and supporting indigenous small miners. In addition DFID funds a number of UK NGOs, and work on the Poverty reduction strategy.
	Direct UK project assistance in Colombia is mainly funded by the FCO's Global Opportunities Fund and the Global Conflict Prevention Pool. It reflects the UK's key priorities of tackling the illegal drugs trade and improving the human rights situation. The FCO has recently placed onto its website a schedule of UK human rights-related project activity:
	http://www.fco.gov.uk.

Avian Influenza: Suffolk

Richard Spring: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how much was spent on accommodation for his Department's officials at Ickworth Hotel, per room, during the recent visit in connection with the avian influenza outbreak in Suffolk; for how long officials stayed in the hotel; and how many officials stayed there.

Jonathan R Shaw: holding answer 29 November 2007
	 Animal health staff stayed at the Ickworth Hotel at the agreed Government rate of between £95 and £110 per room. 30 officials stayed at the hotel for a total of 90 nights' accommodation between 13 and 23 November. Altogether, 1,653 nights' accommodation were booked in the area from 13 November at more than 20 hotels.
	In an emergency, a large number of staff from around the UK need to be found hotel rooms near to the local disease control centre at very short notice which can be less than a day. DEFRA employs the services of an external provider to ensure that the most appropriate accommodation is secured and provides the best value for money for the taxpayer as these costs are met under current arrangements passed on to the industry.

Centre for Environment Fisheries and Aquaculture: Finance

Bill Wiggin: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what level of funding he plans to provide to the Centre for Environment, Fisheries and Aquaculture Science in each of the next five years; and if he will make a statement.

Jonathan R Shaw: The Department has committed the following minimum levels of funding to CEFAS over the next five years:
	
		
			   Minimum funding (£ million) 
			 2008-09 30.9 
			 2009-10 30.9 
			 2010-11 29.8 
			 2011-12 28.8 
			 2012-13 28.8 
		
	
	An additional £1.1 million has also been committed to support CEFAS' ongoing transformation.

Fisheries: Subsidies

Michael Moore: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if he will set out the Government's proposals for the application of the European Fisheries Fund in the United Kingdom for the period 2007 to 2013; and when he intends to submit such proposals to the European Commission.

Jonathan R Shaw: The Government's proposals for the application of the European Fisheries Fund in the United Kingdom for the period 2007 to 2013 will be set out in the draft UK operational programme as required by Article 17 of Council Regulation (EC) No 1198/2006.
	I intend to submit the UK operational programme to the Commission following a public consultation on the draft. This will be a 12 week consultation which I expect to commence early in 2008.

Institute for Animal Health: Pirbright

Roger Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs who signed the most recent licence authorising the holding or working with restricted pathogens in respect of  (a) the Institute for Animal Health, Pirbright and  (b) the Merial site, Pirbright.

Jonathan R Shaw: The licenses were signed by a DEFRA official experienced in laboratory inspections. Merial's licence was restored following detailed DEFRA and Health and Safety Executive inspections that confirmed the terms of the licence (including operating procedures and installation of security measures) had been fully met, and that it was safe for vaccine production to recommence.
	Following an incident announced by DEFRA on 22 November, Merial's Special Animal Pathogens Order (SAPO) licence was suspended. The incident was contained in the closed, re-lined drainage system, and there was no release of virus to the environment. An inspection team is producing a full report for the Acting Chief Veterinary Officer, and further action will then be considered.

Organic Farming: East of England

David Ruffley: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many organic farmers there were in each county in the East of England in each year since 1997.

Jonathan R Shaw: Information on the number of organic farms is given in the following table. This shows the number of organic farms in the eastern England Government office region between 2004 and 2007 (based on data collected at January of each year). Prior to 2004 data is unavailable.
	
		
			  Number of organic farms in the eastern region of England 
			   2004  2005  2006  2007 
			 Bedfordshire 12 10 8 7 
			 Cambridgeshire 43 47 43 44 
			 Essex 52 48 51 50 
			 Hertfordshire 10 12 9 11 
			 Norfolk 78 84 78 88 
			 Suffolk 63 58 64 67 
			 Eastern England 258 259 253 267 
			  Source:  DEFRA Statistics

Seas and Oceans: Biodiversity

Bill Wiggin: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what funding his Department provided for marine biodiversity science in each year since 1997; and if he will make a statement.

Jonathan R Shaw: The Department directly funds marine biodiversity science through its research and development programme for biodiversity. Since 1997, expenditure on marine science has grown from around £180,000 to well over £800,000 per year. A summary of approximate expenditure per year is outlined as follows:
	
		
			   Expenditure (£) 
			 2007-08 847,000 
			 2006-07 870,000 
			 2005-06 831,000 
			 2004-05 692,000 
			 2003-04 449,000 
			 2002-03 774,000 
			 2001-02 479,000 
			 2000-01 415,000 
			 1999-2000 207,000 
			 1998-99 189,000 
			 1997-98 184,000 
		
	
	A significant amount of the funding has been spent on cetacean research, in particular, the UK Standings Scheme and work to determine the abundance and distribution of cetaceans in UK waters. Funds have also been used to assist in expanding our knowledge of the range of habitats found in our seas. This has included the funding of marine surveys in areas beyond 12 nautical miles to identify Special Areas of Conservation (SACs), and the development of UK Seamap; a series of marine landscape maps which are based on a modelling exercise to predict marine landscape types likely to be found in UK marine waters. Such research outputs will be useful in marine spatial planning.
	In addition, marine biodiversity science is undertaken indirectly via other programmes within the Department. It is, however, harder to separate out the exact proportion of the spend which could be regarded as biodiversity research back to 1997. It is estimated that, this year alone, a further £400,000 could be regarded as marine biodiversity science research from the Marine Environment research and development programme.
	The figures in the table do not include marine biodiversity science expenditure by the Conservation Agencies, Joint Nature Conservation Committee (JNCC) and Natural England. These two bodies are responsible for the implementation of marine biodiversity policy in UK offshore waters and territorial waters of England respectively. DEFRA provides funds to these agencies for the delivery of marine nature conservation policy. Both of these organisations fund relevant science to ensure the effective delivery of policy. For instance, in 2007-08, the JNCC were provided with £1 million to complete offshore survey work, a considerable proportion of this budget will be spent on commissioning offshore survey of areas believed to be important for conservation purposes.

Commissioner of the Police for the Metropolis: Complaints

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what recent representatives she has received from  (a) hon. Members and  (b) members of the public calling for the (i) removal and (ii) resignation of the Commissioner of Police for the Metropolis; and if she will make a statement.

Tony McNulty: Home Office Ministers have received seven letters from right hon. and hon. Members about this matter. These enclosed or referred to three letters from members of the public. Home Office Ministers have received seven further letters direct from members of the public. My right hon. Friend, the Home Secretary's letter of 6 November to the right hon. Member for Haltemprice and Howden (David Davis) made it clear that Sir Ian Blair has her full support.

Departmental Correspondence

Sarah Teather: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what percentage of inquiries received by her Department from the public were responded to within  (a) one week,  (b) 14 days,  (c) 28 days,  (d) two months and  (e) three months in the last period for which figures are available; and in what percentage of cases it took (i) over three months and (ii) over one year to respond.

Liam Byrne: The Home Office reports its ministerial correspondence performance annually to the Cabinet Office. The report publishes details for the Home Office and its agencies separately. Details for the calendar year 2006 were published by way of a written ministerial statement on 28 March 2007,  Official Report, column 101WS, as follows:
	
		
			  Ministerial correspondence 2006 
			   Target for reply (working days)  Number of letters received  Percentage of replies within target 
			 Home Office (non BIA correspondence) 15 9,583 93 
			 Criminal Records Bureau 10 378 93 
			 Border & Immigration Agency (BIA)(1) 20 41,534 78 
			 Identity and Passport Service 10 679 68 
			 (1 )Formerly immigration and nationality directorate (IND) 
		
	
	In the same year, performance on public letters in the Home Office was 94 per cent. replied to within the 20 working day target, while 93 per cent. of e-mails were similarly replied to.
	Performance in 2006 across the periods requested is provided in the following table.
	Performance across the periods specified for 2006 was as follows:
	
		
			  Percentage 
			   Number of cases received  Within 1 week  Within 14 days  Within 28 days  Within 2 months  Within 3 months  Over 3 months  Over 1 year 
			  Home Office (excluding BIA)   
			 MP's letters 9,588 30 78 98 99 100 0 0 
			 Public letters 14,516 51 64 92 99 99 1 0 
			 Public e-mails 14,330 54 67 91 98 99 1 0 
			  
			  Border and Immigration Agency (BIA)   
			 MP's letters 41,534 10.90 29.50 78.10 94.40 97.20 100 n/a 
			 Public letters n/k n/k n/k n/k n/k n/k n/k n/k 
			 Public e-mails 190,813 100 n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a 
		
	
	
		
			  Identity and Passport Service HQ (IPS) 
			   Number of cases received  Dealt with within service level agreement target date (percentage) 
			
			 MP letters 679 (1)68 
			 Public letters 40,334 (1)99.1 
			 Public e-mails 29,433 (2)95.8 
			 (1) 10 working days. (2 )Two working days. 
		
	
	IPS records are not held in such a way as to be able to provide the information requested on correspondence dealt with within longer periods. Manual records would have to be checked and disproportionate costs would be incurred.
	
		
			 Criminal Records Bureau (CRB) 
			   Number of cases received  Dealt with within service level agreement target date (percentage) 
			
			 MP letters 378 (1)93 
			 Public letters 40,334 (1)99.1 
			 Public e-mails 29,433 (2)95.8 
			 (1) 10 working days. (2 )Two working days. 
		
	
	CRB records are not held in such a way as to be able to provide the information requested on correspondence dealt with within longer periods. Manual records would have to be checked and disproportionate costs would be incurred.

Police: Greater London

Boris Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many police officers there were in  (a) London and  (b) each London borough in each year since 1997.

Tony McNulty: The available information is in the following tables. Police officer figures for London boroughs were collected centrally from 2003.
	 [Official Report, 20 February 2008, Vol. 472, c. 5MC.]
	
		
			  Number of police officers for London and London boroughs: 1997 to 2007( 1) 
			  Table A: Police officers (FTE) for London: 1997 to 2002( 1) 
			   Year ending 31 March: 
			   1997  1998  1999  2000  2001  2002 
			 London(2) 27,536 26,919 26,851 26,217 25,581 26,987 
		
	
	
		
			  Table B: Police officers (FTE) for London and London boroughs: 2003 to 2007( 1) 
			   Year ending 31 March: 
			   2003  2004  2005  2006  2007 
			 Barking and Dagenham 360 384 419 426 427 
			 Barnet 522 541 561 554 551 
			 Bexley 315 338 383 361 371 
			 Brent 619 683 679 667 672 
			 Bromley 417 459 489 484 493 
			 Camden 719 794 850 854 812 
			 City of Westminster 1,565 1,637 1,617 1,572 1,561 
			 Croydon 624 659 692 694 684 
			 Ealing 652 697 686 673 681 
			 Enfield 490 538 575 560 582 
			 Greenwich 604 583 605 615 632 
			 Hackney 673 766 789 767 744 
			 Hammersmith and Fulham 513 516 526 553 562 
			 Haringey 633 682 683 717 689 
			 Harrow 302 333 342 347 354 
			 Havering 340 343 383 380 383 
			 Hillingdon 458 484 498 506 495 
			 Hounslow 467 472 510 501 519 
			 Islington 623 680 683 685 678 
			 Kensington and Chelsea 528 575 562 574 568 
			 Kingston upon Thames 272 275 298 307 294 
			 Lambeth 968 941 984 994 953 
			 Lewisham 571 625 646 649 619 
			 Merton 304 339 352 353 377 
			 Newham 692 781 782 781 758 
			 Redbridge 393 440 459 471 467 
			 Richmond upon Thames 284 285 287 294 303 
			 Southwark 838 869 891 873 846 
			 Sutton 266 280 291 307 306 
			 Tower Hamlets 686 760 761 775 756 
			 Waltham Forest 486 533 546 556 543 
			 Wandsworth 557 612 582 607 599 
			   
			 City of London 434 445 438 438 412 
			   
			 London(2) 28,792 30,588 31,586 31,823 31,564 
			 (1) All figures are full-time equivalents (FTE) rounded to the nearest whole number. (2) The London totals comprise officer totals for Metropolitan police and City of London police. They are 'not' totals of the London boroughs because they also include Heathrow and Central Services. Excludes officers on career breaks and maternity/paternity leave.

Rape: Drugs

Boris Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many  (a) reports of,  (b) arrests for and  (c) convictions for drug rape were made in London in each of the last 10 years.

Vernon Coaker: The information requested is not collected centrally. Data on offences of rape recorded by the police is collected by the Home Office. Data on arrests and those convicted is collected by the Office for Criminal Justice Reform. However, it is not possible to separately identify drug rapes in either statistical series.

Dental Services

Daniel Kawczynski: To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether he plans to make adjustments to the distribution of units of dental activity across different dental functions in light of the experience of the April 2006 dental contracts.

Ann Keen: Units of dental activity are essentially banded courses of treatment, weighted according to the relative average complexity of the three dental charge bands. The current weightings are derived from the previous general dental services fee-scale. Each fee included an element which reflected the relative time taken for the procedure and the expenses incurred. The weighted averaging inherent in the new system means some courses of treatment will involve more time and expense than the average for that band, others less. There are no plans to change the distribution of the existing weighted courses of treatment. However dentists working patterns under the new system are kept under review.

Dental Services

Daniel Kawczynski: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  what the total shortfall of units of dental activity (UDAs) was among NHS dentists in England who did not undertake the contracted number of UDAs in the financial year 2006-07;
	(2)  what average number of units of dental activity (UDAs) undertaken was as a percentage of the contracted number of UDAs for NHS dentists in England in the financial year 2006-07.

Ann Keen: Data released by the Dental Services Division of the Business Service Authority show that the total shortfall for national health service dental contracts delivering less than 100 per cent. of contracted activity in 2006-07 was 5.3 million units of dental activity. 94.8 per cent. of total contracted units of dental activity were delivered in 2006-07.
	 Notes
	1. The data are available by NHS dental contract. A contract may cover one dentist or a number of dentists.
	2. The data provided relates to contracts open for the whole of 2006-07.

Dental Services

Shailesh Vara: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many  (a) dentists and  (b) orthodontists provided services to the NHS in each of the last five years, broken down by primary care trust.

Ann Keen: Numbers of national health service dentists at primary care trust (PCT) and strategic health authority (SHA) level as at 31 March 1997 to 2006 are available in Annex E of the "NHS Dental Activity and Workforce Report England: 31 March 2006". Information at parliamentary constituency level is available in Annex G.
	This information is based on the old contractual arrangements. This report is available in the Library and is available at:
	www.ic.nhs.uk/statistics-and-data-collections/primary-care/dentistry/nhs-dental-activity-and-worforce-report-england-31-march-2006
	The numbers of NHS dentists at PCT and SHA level as at 30 June, 30 September, 31 December 2006 and 31 March 2007 are available in Table El of Annex 3 of the NHS "Dental Statistics for England: 2006-07" report. This information is based on the new dental contractual arrangements, introduced on 1 April 2006.
	This report is available in the Library and is available at:
	www.ic.nhs.uk/pubs/dental0607
	The inclusion of dentists on trust led contracts in the data collection following the 2006 reforms means that data collected since April 2006 cannot be directly compared with data collected under the previous system.
	The numbers quoted in the above reports are headcounts and do not differentiate between full- and part-time dentists, nor do they account for the fact that some dentists may do more NHS work than others.
	In both of these reports, it is not possible to separately identify dentists undertaking orthodontic work.
	Orthodontist information is only separately identifiable within the Hospital and Community Health Service (HCHS) for which PCTs are not a part. The following table shows HCHS data for England and SHA areas.
	
		
			  HCHS : Orthodontic dental staff by SHA area ,  England as at 30 September each year 
			  N umber (headcount) 
			2002  2003  2004  2005  2006 
			All  s taff  Of which:  Consultant  All  s taff  Of which:  Consultant  All  s taff  Of which:  Consultant  All  s taff  Of which:  Consultant  All  s taff  Of which:  Consultant 
			 England  508 161 522 178 521 180 552 206 544 189 
			 North East Q30 30 11 37 10 33 9 35 9 36 7 
			 North West Q31 65 21 62 20 62 25 68 25 65 26 
			 Yorkshire and The Humber Q32 68 26 67 28 68 31 64 27 59 24 
			 East Midlands Q33 41 10 46 12 43 12 41 14 46 16 
			 West Midlands Q34 55 12 54 15 52 15 54 19 62 19 
			 East of England Q35 49 14 43 14 34 12 39 16 42 17 
			 London Q36 82 26 82 31 85 29 120 49 89 31 
			 South East Coast Q37 34 11 38 13 40 14 40 13 37 13 
			 South Central Q38 28 13 35 17 31 14 35 15 37 16 
			 South West Q39 56 17 58 18 73 19 56 19 71 20 
			  Source:  The Information Centre for health and social care Medical and Dental Workforce Census 
		
	
	The methodology and frequency for reporting workforce information are being reviewed. The purpose of the review is to ensure that, following experience of the first year of the new dental contract, figures provide an appropriate measure of the workforce, given the way that the workforce reporting system is being used by PCTs. An update on the review will be provided in the "NHS Dentals Statistics for England, Quarter 2, 30 September 2007" publication, which is due to be published in February 2008.

Dental Services

John Randall: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what percentage of people were registered with an NHS dentist in each year since 1997.

Ann Keen: The proportion of the population registered with an NHS dentist, in England, as at 31 March 1997 to 2006 are available in Annex B of the "NHS Dental Activity and Workforce Report, England: 31 March 2006".
	This information is based on the old contractual arrangements. This report was published on 23 August 2006 and has been placed in the Library and is also available at:
	www.ic.nhs.uk/statistics-and-data-collections/primary-care/dentistry/nhs-dental-activity-and-workforce-report-england-31-march-2006
	Under the new contractual arrangements, introduced on 1 April 2006, patients do not have to be registered with a dentist to receive national health service care. The closest equivalent measure to 'registration' is the number of patients receiving NHS dental services ('patients seen') in a given area over a 24-month period, for that area. However, this is not directly comparable to the registration data for earlier years.
	The number of patients seen in the previous 24 months as a percentage of the population are available in Table C2 of Annex 3 of the "NHS Dental Statistics for England 2007-08 Quarter 1 30 June 2007" report. Information is available for the 24-month periods ending 31 March 2006, 31 March 2007 and 30 June 2007.
	This report, published on 28 November 2007, is available in the Library and is available at:
	www.ic.nhs.uk/pubs/dentstatsq10708
	Both reports have been published by The Information Centre for health and social care.

Disabled: Social Security Benefits

Roger Gale: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will meet ministerial colleagues in the Department for Work and Pensions to discuss the relationship between benefits paid to people with disabilities and the fuel costs incurred by such people because of their disability.

Ivan Lewis: Fuel poverty is recognised by the DH as an important factor in contributing to excess winter deaths and poor health. It is recognised that disabled people are at high risk of the effects of fuel poverty, with potential negative impacts upon their health and well being. The increased costs of fuel over the last few years, makes it more difficult for people on disability benefits to pay for adequate heating. Therefore we will meet with ministerial colleagues in the Department for Work and Pensions to discuss the relationship between benefits paid to people with disabilities and the fuel costs incurred by such people because of their disability.

Heart Diseases: Medical Treatments

Desmond Turner: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the average number of bed days spent in hospital by patients receiving  (a) coronary artery bypass operations and  (b) percutaneous coronary interventions was in each year since guidance on the use of coronary artery stents was issued by the National Institute of Health and Clinical Excellence in 2003 in (i) England, (ii) each strategic health authority and (iii) each NHS trust.

Ann Keen: This information has been placed in the Library.

Heart Diseases: Waiting Times

Desmond Turner: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the average waiting time for patients waiting for  (a) coronary artery bypass operations and  (b) percutaneous coronary interventions was in each year since guidance on the use of coronary artery stents was issued by the National Institute of Health and Clinical Excellence in 2003 in (i) England, (ii) each strategic health authority and (iii) each NHS trust.

Ann Keen: This information has been placed in the Library.

Nurses: Schools

Norman Lamb: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many primary care trusts (PCTs) have at least one full-time year round qualified school nurse for each cluster or group of primary schools and related secondary schools; which PCTs do not have such provision; and if he will make a statement.

Ann Keen: The following table shows the number of primary care trusts (PCTs) and trusts who employ qualified school nurses who hold the Nursing and Midwifery Council Specialist Practice Qualification with an outcome in school nursing.
	School nurses are generally employed by PCTs although some school nurses will be directly employed by both state and independent schools. The national health service workforce census does not capture these. A number of qualified school nurses will also work conterminously across PCTs boundaries but be directly employed by one single PCT.
	In 2006 there were 1,129 school nurses with a school nurse qualification. This is an increase of 31.9 per cent since 2004.
	
		
			  NHS hospital and community health services: Qualified school nurses( 1)  in England by strategic health authority area, by organisation and by contracted hours as at 30 September 2006 
			  H eadcount 
			   All staff  Full- time  Part- time  Bank 
			  England 1,129 223 886 20 
			  
			  North East Strategic Health Authority area 57 12 45 — 
			 City Hospitals Sunderland NHS Foundation Trust 17 6 11 — 
			 County Durham PCT 26 1 25 — 
			 Darlington PCT 2 — 2 — 
			 Gateshead PCT 2 1 1 — 
			 Northumberland Care Trust 8 2 6 — 
			 Redcar and Cleveland PCT 2 2 — — 
			  
			  North West Strategic Health Authority area 223 39 181 3 
			 Ashton, Leigh and Wigan PCT 6 — 6 — 
			 Blackburn with Darwen PCT 5 1 4 — 
			 Blackpool PCT 7 2 5 — 
			 Bolton PCT 31 6 25 — 
			 Bury PCT 17 2 15 — 
			 Central and Eastern Cheshire PCT 11 — 11 — 
			 Central Lancashire PCT 8 1 7 — 
			 Cumbria PCT 38 5 33 — 
			 East Lancashire PCT 12 3 7 2 
			 Halton and St Helens PCT 9 1 8 — 
			 Heywood, Middleton and Rochdale PCT 12 5 7 — 
			 Knowsley PCT 1 1 — — 
			 North Lancashire PCT 5 2 3 — 
			 Oldham PCT 9 2 7 — 
			 Stockport PCT 1 — — 1 
			 Tameside and Glossop PCT 30 5 25 — 
			 The Wirral Hospital NHS Trust 12 2 10 — 
			 Warrington PCT 9 1 8 — 
			  
			  Yorkshire and the Humber Strategic Health Authority area 204 39 165 — 
			 Barnsley PCT 13 5 8 — 
			 Bradford and Airedale Teaching PCT 22 7 15 — 
			 Calderdale PCT 11 1 10 — 
			 East Riding of Yorkshire PCT 24 — 24 — 
			 Hull Teaching PCT 8 — 8 — 
			 Kirklees PCT 41 4 37 — 
			 Leeds PCT 47 12 35 — 
			 North Lincolnshire PCT 7 2  — 
			 North Yorkshire and York PCT 7 — 7 — 
			 Rotherham PCT 8 4 4 — 
			 Sheffield PCT 15 2 13 — 
			 Wakefield District PCT 1 — 1 — 
			  
			  East Midlands Strategic Health Authority area 45 10 34 1 
			 Chesterfield Royal Hospital NHS Foundation Trust 1 1 — — 
			 Derby City PCT 4 4 — — 
			 Derbyshire County PCT 2 1 1  
			 Leicester City Teaching PCT 3 1 2 — 
			 Lincolnshire Teaching PCT 4 1 3 — 
			 Northamptonshire Teaching PCT 29 1 28 — 
			 Nottinghamshire County Teaching PCT 2 1 — 1 
			  
			  West Midlands Strategic Health Authority area 133 31 102 — 
			 Birmingham East and North PCT 13 5 8 — 
			 Dudley PCT 1 — 1 — 
			 North Staffordshire PCT 13 4 9 — 
			 Shropshire County PCT 2 — 2 — 
			 South Staffordshire Healthcare NHS Trust 1 — 1  
			 South Staffordshire PCT 20 4 16 — 
			 Stoke on Trent Teaching PCT 30 10 20 — 
			 Walsall Teaching PCT 6 1 5 — 
			 Warwickshire PCT 23 6 17 — 
			 Wolverhampton City PCT 24 1 23 — 
			  
			  East of England Strategic Health Authority area 52 13 39 — 
			 Bedfordshire PCT 5 2 3 — 
			 Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Mental Health Partnership NHS Trust 1 1 — — 
			 Cambridgeshire PCT 3 — 3 — 
			 East and North Hertfordshire PCT 4 — 4  
			 Hertfordshire Partnership NHS Trust 5 — 5 — 
			 Luton PCT 4 3 1 — 
			 Mid Essex PCT 12 1 11 — 
			 North East Essex PCT 2 1 1 — 
			 Peterborough PCT 1 — 1 — 
			 West Essex PCT 15 5 10 — 
			  
			  London Strategic Health Authority area 198 51 133 14 
			 Barking and Dagenham PCT 3 1 2—  
			 Barnet PCT 1 — 1 — 
			 Brent Teaching PCT 29 6 23 — 
			 Bromley PCT 3 — — 3 
			 Camden PCT 1 1 — — 
			 City and Hackney PCT 3 2 1 — 
			 Ealing PCT 3 — 3 — 
			 Enfield PCT 2 — 2 — 
			 Greenwich Teaching PCT 21 — 21 — 
			 Hammersmith and Fulham PCT 13 10 3 — 
			 Haringey Teaching PCT 3 3 —  
			 Havering PCT 15 1 14 — 
			 Islington PCT 3 2 1 — 
			 Kingston PCT 2 — 2 — 
			 Lambeth PCT 32 2 22 8 
			 Lewisham PCT 15 6 8 1 
			 Newham PCT 8 5 3 — 
			 Redbridge PCT 13 2 11 — 
			 Richmond and Twickenham PCT 4 — 4 — 
			 Southwark PCT 11 7 2 2 
			 Tower Hamlets PCT 2 — 2 — 
			 Wandsworth PCT 9 1 8 — 
			 Westminster PCT 2 2 — — 
			  
			  South East Coast Strategic Health Authority area 89 11 78 — 
			 East Sussex Downs and Weald PCT 14 — 14 — 
			 Eastern and Coastal Kent Teaching PCT 6 4 2 — 
			 Hastings and Rother PCT 15 3 12 — 
			 South Downs Health NHS Trust 1 1 — — 
			 Surrey PCT 12 1 11 — 
			 West Kent PCT 3 — 3 — 
			 West Sussex Teaching PCT 38 2 36 — 
			  
			  South Central Strategic Health Authority area 60 2 58 — 
			 Berkshire East Teaching PCT 16 1 15 — 
			 Berkshire West PCT 17 — 17 — 
			 Hampshire PCT 4 1 3 — 
			 Oxfordshire PCT 23 — 23 — 
			  
			  South West Strategic Health Authority area 68 15 51 2 
			 Bath and North East Somerset PCT 7 — 6 1 
			 Cornwall and Isles of Scilly PCT 17 4 13 — 
			 Devon PCT 22 2 20 — 
			 Dorset PCT 7 2 5 — 
			 North Bristol NHS Trust 1 — — 1 
			 North Somerset PCT 1 1 — — 
			 Somerset PCT 3 1 2 — 
			 Torbay Care Trust 7 4 3 — 
			 United Bristol Healthcare NHS Trust 3 1 2 — 
			 (1) Qualified school nurses hold the NMC specialist Practice Qualification with an outcome in school nursing—which is a recordable qualification on the NMC register.  Source: The Information Centre for health and social care non—medical workforce census.

Ritalin: Children

Shailesh Vara: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to the answer of 20 November 2007,  Official Report, columns 837-8W to the hon. Member for Yeovil, , on ritalin: children, if he will break down the number of children prescribed ritalin in each year since 1999 by primary care trust.

Ivan Lewis: Information is not available in the format requested.

Beijing: Olympic Games

Michael Moore: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment he has made of the freedoms that journalists are likely to have at the Beijing Olympics next year; what assessment he has made of whether such freedoms are likely to be in line with  (a) international norms and  (b) commitments made by China in the bidding process for the Olympic games; and if he will make a statement.

David Miliband: We welcome the regulations implemented by the Chinese Government on 1 January, which lift restrictions on foreign correspondents in China up to and including the Olympics. We continue to urge China to make the regulations permanent, and to ensure greater media freedom, including for domestic journalists in line with international standards. My right hon. Friend the Minister for the Olympics and London (Tessa Jowell) did so during her visit to Beijing from 11 to 15 November. The commitments made by Olympic hosts are a matter for the International Olympics Committee.

Bombs

Mark Oaten: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if the Government will call for a definition of cluster munitions to be banned under the Oslo process encompassing both dumb and smart cluster munitions.

Kim Howells: holding answer 3 December 2007
	There is no internationally agreed definition of a cluster munition, or of a distinction between "dumb" and "smart". A definition will be the key element to negotiate in any future instrument, both in the Oslo Process and in the framework of the Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons. We believe the focus should be on banning those cluster munitions that pose the greatest risk to civilians: those without target discrimination or an in-built self-destruct/self-deactivation mechanism.

Burma: Human Rights

John MacDougall: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on the political situation of the Karen people in Burma.

Meg Munn: We remain concerned about the situation in Karen State. Attacks carried out by the Burmese army on civilians in northern and western Karen State have been particularly intense over the past two years and have resulted in a significant increase in the number of internally displaced people and refugees on the Thai/Burmese border.
	We have repeatedly called for a halt to such offensives and have urged both the military regime and the Karen National Union to intensify their efforts to find a peaceful settlement that will bring about a permanent end to the conflict. We support Aung San Suu Kyi's statement of 8 November, released through the UN Secretary-General's special envoy, Professor Ibrahim Gambari, calling for a genuine national dialogue between the Government, opposition parties and ethnic groups in Burma.

Colombia: Drugs

Colin Burgon: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assistance his Department provided to the Colombian authorities for counter-narcotics operations in each year from 2004 to 2007; and what such assistance will be provided for 2008.

Kim Howells: Preventing the importation of cocaine into the UK from Colombia is a top priority for the UK's international counter-narcotics efforts. The UK works closely with the Colombian authorities to disrupt trafficking and to interdict consignments of illicit drugs.
	In the period 2004 to 2007, the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) has invested in various counter-narcotics projects in Colombia through its Global Opportunities Fund's Drugs and Crime Programme of some £1.5million. These projects have helped to build capacity among Colombian law enforcement agencies and the judiciary. Projects have covered subjects such as best practice in forensics, anti-money laundering and financial investigation techniques, judicial process and the provision of chemical analysis equipment at Colombian airports.
	The FCO has also supported drugs awareness campaigns in Colombian schools. In addition, Colombia has benefited from the UN Office on Drugs and Crime's Latin American projects that the UK has co-funded to improve institutional capacity across the region.
	No decision has yet been made on what assistance might be provided for 2008.
	The UK does not work with Colombia in isolation. We take a broad regional approach to tackling the trade in illicit drugs, through a mixture of political engagement, capacity building and law enforcement support in producer, transit and consumer countries. This includes working with governments of other producer and transit countries in Latin America, as well as with governments in countries along the main trafficking routes for drugs from Latin America (especially via the Caribbean and West Africa).

Departmental Public Expenditure

William Hague: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs pursuant to the Winter Supplementary Estimates (HC 29), if he will break down his Department's  (a) main estimate and  (b) winter supplementary estimate provision by subhead in (i) near cash and (ii) non-cash terms.

David Miliband: In the Foreign and Commonwealth Office's (FCO) Main Estimate 2007-08, all subheads are near cash with the exception of Al and F2. The subhead A1 consists of £798,280,000 near cash and £156,719,000 non-cash. The subhead F2 of £50,000,000 is completely non-cash. The total non-cash element is £206,719,000. The total non-cash figure can be found in the Part II: Resource to cash reconciliation table in the main estimate, it is the figure shown as "Total accruals to cash adjustments" (£206,719,000).
	Similarly, in the FCO's winter supplementary estimate 2007-08, all subheads are near cash with the exception of A1 and F2. The subhead A1 consists of £815,302,000 near cash and £156,719,000 non-cash. The subhead F2 of £50,000,000 is completely non-cash. Total non-cash expenditure is unchanged from the main estimate at £206,719,000.
	Please note that data taken from supply estimates or resource accounts is not necessarily readily compatible with a near-cash/non-cash split, which is used only within the departmental expenditure limit budgetary controls applied by HM Treasury.

Papua: Human Rights

Andrew Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs 
	(1)  what recent representations he has made to the government of Indonesia on the situation in West Papua;
	(2)  if he will make representations to the government of Indonesia on upholding the right to freedom of expression and assembly in West Papua.

Meg Munn: My right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary has not discussed Papua with the Indonesian Government. However, I met the governor of Papua, Barnabus Suebo, when he visited London on 25 October. We discussed the situation in Papua, including human rights and the implementation of the Special Autonomy Law. Our embassy in Jakarta regularly discusses human rights issues, including in Papua, with the Indonesian Government. The human rights situation in Indonesia has improved considerably in recent years, and President Yudhoyono is continuing efforts to push through reforms, including to the security sector. We will continue to raise these issues with the Indonesian Government.

MI6

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement about the work and function of the IOps section of MI6.

David Miliband: I refer the hon. Member to the reply my right hon. Friend the then Foreign Secretary (Margaret Beckett) gave to him on 14 July 2006,  Official Report, column 2138W.

Occupied Territories: Armed Conflict

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent discussions  (a) he,  (b) Ministers in his Department and  (c) officials in his Department have had with the government of Israel on rocket attacks on Israel from Gaza; and if he will make a statement.

Meg Munn: The Government have discussed the continued firing of rockets by Palestinian militants from Gaza into Israel with the Israeli Government on numerous occasions, and most recently during the visit of my right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary to Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories on 17-19 November.
	Over 1,000 Qassam rockets and mortar shells have been fired at Israeli targets since Hamas seized control of Gaza on 14 June 2007, wounding a number of Israelis. It has also caused damage to infrastructure. We continue to call for an immediate halt to these attacks, which target civilians and only escalate an already tense situation. While acknowledging Israel's right to defend itself, we call on Israel to show restraint in the face of these attacks and make clear that any response must be in accordance with international law.

Pakistan: Politics and Government

William Hague: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether he plans to discuss the situation in Pakistan with his ASEAN counterparts; and if he will make a statement.

David Miliband: We continue to engage in on-going dialogue with our Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) partners, most recently with my hon. Friend the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs Meg Munn's attendance at the EU-ASEAN summit o n 22 November.
	I have discussed the situation with EU colleagues and other international partners, including most recently Commonwealth partners on 22 November. We continue to urge the Pakistani Government to implement the necessary conditions to guarantee free and fair elections on schedule in January 2008, release all political prisoners and lift all remaining media restrictions.

Russia: Elections

Malcolm Bruce: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent  (a) discussions he has had with and  (b) representations he has made to the Russian Government on (i) independent monitoring of the forthcoming parliamentary elections in Russia and (ii) the treatment of opposition parties in Russia.

Jim Murphy: holding answer 3 December 2007
	The Government have made no direct approaches to the Russian Government on either issue, instead supporting fully the EU presidency statements on independent monitoring of parliamentary elections and the treatment of opposition parties, which urged Russia to allow its citizens freedom of expression and demanding that the elections be free and fair. I discussed this with partners in the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe at the Ministerial Council in Madrid on 29 November and separately with the Director of the Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR), Ambassador Strohal. We fully support ODIHR's decision to withdraw from election monitoring in the face of significant obstruction from the Russian Government.

East of England Brussels Office: Expenditure

Eric Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform what the expenditure of the East of England Brussels Office was in the last year for which figures are available.

Stephen Timms: The expenditure of the east of England Brussels office, in the last year for which figures are readily available, was £321,740. This relates to the financial year 2003-04.

Parental Leave

Patricia Hewitt: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform what steps his Department is taking to encourage fathers of young children to exercise their right to parental leave.

Patrick McFadden: The Government encourage awareness of all leave entitlements—including parental leave—by providing detailed guidance to employees and employers through a variety of channels, including the BERR, Direct.gov.uk and BusinessLink.gov.uk websites, as well as via the ACAS helpline. The Department's guidance on rights to paternity leave and pay also includes a summary of other entitlements for which fathers may be eligible, including parental leave.

Post Offices: Closures

Richard Spring: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform when the findings of the consultation on proposed post office closures in West Suffolk will be published.

Patrick McFadden: I understand that Post Office Ltd. expects to announce final decisions on its area plan proposals for post office closures and new outreach services in Norfolk and west Suffolk in late June 2008.

Children: Databases

Harry Cohen: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what steps are being taken to ensure the security of the contact point database.

Kevin Brennan: As soon as we were made aware of the loss of data from HMRC, we made contact with the Serious Organised Crime Agency and the Child Exploitation and Online Protection Centre to identify any potential children's welfare issues. As child safety and welfare issues are an absolute priority for us, we are maintaining close contact with the agencies involved to ensure that we all remain vigilant to any child welfare issues that may arise.
	On Tuesday 20 November my right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families, asked the Department's Permanent Secretary to conduct an immediate assessment of how personal data is stored and protected in the Department. The Permanent Secretary reported back within 24 hours to confirm the Department is confident that we have very robust procedures in place. In light of the security breach at the HMRC, we are continuing to check our procedures to ensure standards are as high as they can be. On Wednesday 21 November, the Prime Minister confirmed this approach when he asked all Departments to check their procedures for the storage and use of data. Given the obvious importance of ensuring that ContactPoint has extremely robust security measures in place, on Tuesday 20 November, the Secretary of State also asked for an independent assessment of ContactPoint's security procedures. This will be conducted by Deloitte.
	Security is, and always has been, of paramount importance to the ContactPoint project and we are mindful that the Data Protection Act 1998 requires that the level of technical and organisational security must be appropriate.
	In line with best practice, ContactPoint will be routinely backed up. This will be done only by specifically identified system operators within Capgemini, with whom we have contracted for the build and initial host of ContactPoint. Two Capgemini staff will have to be present when back-ups take place. This dual control is considered best practice. The backup tapes will be encrypted, protected with a strong (complex) password and stored in a fire-proof safe in a secure room. The limited number of Capgemini staff who do have access to this data must have enhanced CRB clearance.
	There is no facility that would allow users to copy personal identifiable information to a file, other than when files need to be backed up as indicated in the last paragraph. The vast majority of users will only be able to view child data on the screen—they will not be able to extract files in a personally identifiable form. A very limited number of people will be able to extract identifiable data, one record at a time, from ContactPoint in order to meet legal requirements as set out in The Children Act 2004 Information Database (England) Regulations 2007, including responding to subject access requests. There is a clear right under the Data Protection Act 1998 for children and young people (or their parents or carers when acting appropriately on their behalf) to have access to their information on ContactPoint and for it to be corrected if it is found to be inaccurate.
	A very limited number of people in local authorities and the national ContactPoint team will be able to run reports to, for example, produce aggregated data or support data quality checks. These reports will be in an anonymised form and will not contain personally identifiable data. The only exception to this is a report produced to support local authorities in their duty to identify children who are missing education. The information provided in this report is restricted by regulations and can only contain child name, address, date of birth, unique identifying number, parent/carer contact details and the details of start and end dates for educational institutions attended by the child or young person.
	Access to ContactPoint will be strictly limited to those who need it to do their job and who will be subject to stringent security controls. Before being granted access, all users will have completed mandatory face-to-face training, have security clearance (including enhanced Criminal Records Bureau clearance) and have a user name, a password, a PIN and a security token to access ContactPoint. Mandatory face-to-face training will include the safe and secure use of ContactPoint and the importance of compliance with the Data Protection Act 1998 and Human Rights Act 1998.
	To gain access to a child's record, all users will have to state clear reasons why they are accessing ContactPoint, and all use of the system will be monitored and audited. Every access to a child's record will be detailed in the ContactPoint audit trail. This will be regularly monitored by local authorities, using on-line user activity reports, to ensure that any misuse is detected.

Departmental Data Protection

Philip Hammond: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many employees of each grade in his Department  (a) have access to confidential or sensitive data and  (b) are authorised to download such data to disk; how many of his Department's employees have undergone data protection training in the last 12 months; what the average length of time is that each employee of his Department has spent on data protection training; how many investigations of employees of his Department for improperly accessing confidential information have taken place in the last 12 months; how many such investigations resulted in cases of disciplinary action; and what the circumstances of each of those cases were.

David Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families 
	(1)  how many requests his Department received from the National Audit Office for access to databases containing personal information on members of the general public in each year since 1997;
	(2)  what mechanisms his Department has in place to ensure that databases containing personal information on members of the general public are not accessed  (a) by unauthorised staff and  (b) by authorised staff for unauthorised purposes;
	(3)  how many electronic databases held by his Department contain  (a) names,  (b) addresses,  (c) bank details and  (d) other personal information on members of the general public.
	(4)  how many times databases held by his Department and containing personal information on members of the general public were accessed in each month of the last five years.

Kevin Brennan: I refer the hon. Member to the statement made by my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister on 21 November 2007,  Official Report, column 1179, The review by the Cabinet Secretary and security experts is looking at procedures within Departments and agencies for the storage and use of data. A statement on departments' procedures will be made on completion of the review.

GCSE

David Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families whether it is his policy to retain  (a) GCSE and  (b) A level qualifications.

Jim Knight: GGSEs and A-levels are long-established and valued qualifications. The Government believe that their future should be decided by the demands of young people, schools and colleges. The review which we have announced for 2013 will consider the evidence and experience following the introduction of Diplomas and the implementation of changes to A-level and GCSE, with a view to reaching conclusions about how in practice the overall offer meets the needs of young people in progressing to further study and employment.

Gifted and Talented Programme

Tom Brake: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what proportion of students in each London borough were on the Gifted and Talented programme in the latest period for which figures are available.

Jim Knight: The following table shows the proportion of students identified as gifted and talented by maintained primary and secondary schools for each London borough as at January 2007.
	
		
			  London borough  Percentage 
			 City of London 0.0 
			 Camden 8.7 
			 Greenwich 8.3 
			 Hackney 10.8 
			 Hammersmith and Fulham 10.6 
			 Islington 8.5 
			 Kensington and Chelsea 14.1 
			 Lambeth 9.1 
			 Lewisham 5.2 
			 Southwark 6.9 
			 Tower Hamlets 8.6 
			 Wandsworth 11.7 
			 Westminster 10.6 
			 Barking and Dagenham 4.7 
			 Barnet 5.6 
			 Bexley 12.3 
			 Brent 7.8 
			 Bromley 11.2 
			 Croydon 4.9 
			 Ealing 8.3 
			 Enfield 11.1 
			 Haringey 8.2 
			 Harrow 7.6 
			 Havering 14.3 
			 Hillingdon 8.8 
			 Hounslow 10.9 
			 Kingston upon Thames 9.5 
			 Merton 6.4 
			 Newham 8.3 
			 Redbridge 10.4 
			 Richmond upon Thames 9.4 
			 Sutton 9.3 
			 Waltham Forest 10.9

Languages: GCSE

David Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what progress has been made in reviewing the standards of GCSE modern language examinations and their level of difficulty in comparison with other GCSE examinations; and if he will make a statement.

Jim Knight: Lord Dearing's Languages Review, published in March 2007, identified the need to resolve the widely held perception that languages GCSEs a re harder than other subjects. This is a matter for the Qualifications and Curriculum Authority (QCA) which, as qualifications regulator, has responsibility for ensuring consistent standards in GCSE. Following the Languages Review, the Secretary of State asked QCA to investigate this matter and report back to him. We expect to receive QCA's report in the near future.

Empty Property

Nick Harvey: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government when she will announce her conclusions and intentions in response to the consultation on modernising empty property relief.

Iain Wright: Following consideration of responses to the consultation document "Modernising Empty Property Relief", we intend to announce our decisions on the future exemptions from reformed empty property rates and on proposed new anti-avoidance regulations, later in the year.

EU Grants and Loans

Alistair Burt: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government 
	(1)  if she will set out her response to the concerns of the European Commission which have led to the suspension of European Regional Development Fund funding in  (a) the West Midlands,  (b) London and  (c) the North West; and what steps she is taking to tackle the concerns;
	(2)  how much European Regional Development Fund funding is suspended by the European Union in relation to  (a) the West Midlands,  (b) the North West and  (c) London;
	(3)  when she expects the suspension of European Regional Development Fund funding in  (a) the West Midlands,  (b) the North West and  (c) London to be lifted.

John Healey: holding answer 13 November 2007
	The suspension of ERDF payments stems from specific concerns identified by the Commission in the level of on-site project monitoring. The Government have carried out intensive work to increase the level of checks and strengthen reporting. Each affected region is being assessed individually by the Commission and as a result the suspensions have now been lifted in the west midlands, north-east, Yorkshire and The Humber, north-west objective 1, and Peterborough. A total of £243 million in ERDF payments was held back for those regions by the Commission, and payments have now been fully resumed. We are waiting to hear about the lifting of the suspensions of payments for London. In the case of the north-west objective 2 programme we are carrying out urgent further work to re-assure the Commission before a final decision is taken.
	The European Commission is currently holding back around £7 million in relation to the London objective 2 and Stockwell urban programmes and around £19 million in relation to the north-west objective 2 and Burnley urban programmes.

Fire Services: Consultants

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how much has been spent on consultants' fees for the Fire Link project to date, broken down by consultancy.

Parmjit Dhanda: For the period August 2002 to October 2007 the individual costs of consultancies used by the Firelink project are:
	
		
			  Consultancy  Costs (£000) 
			 Mott MacDonald Ltd. 19,500 
			 BOS consulting Ltd. 6 
			 Bourton Group Ltd. 27 
			 Denton Wilde Sapte 882 
			 Ernst and Young LLP 1,044 
			 Gardiner and Theobald 20 
			 Hedra plc 75 
			 Hudson Global Resources 632 
			 INOVEM Ltd. 8 
			 Keymedia Design Ltd. 7 
			 Malcolm Hutchinson Associates Ltd. 6 
			 Mouchel Parkman Services Ltd. 274 
			 Office of Government Commerce 147 
			 PA Consulting 19 
			 PKF 2 
			 QuinetiQ 15 
			 SERCO 137 
			 Willis Ltd. 18

Fire Services: Finance

Andrew Dismore: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what the total cost of the FireControl project team has been to date including  (a) staffing costs,  (b) secondment costs,  (c) payments made by fire authorities under the new burden principle and  (d) travel costs.

Parmjit Dhanda: To the end of October 2007 the cost (net of receipts) for the National FiReControl Team was £42,011,903. This figure includes  (a) £5,767,265 staffing (including civil servants, interim and agency staff),  (b) secondments at £4,394,071 and  (c) travel costs at £813,603.
	In addition, we have made payments to local authorities under the New Burdens principles of £19,054,757.

Housing: Low Incomes

Helen Southworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government if she will take steps to ensure that provision of new affordable housing matches housing needs analysis in relation to the need for affordable family homes in  (a) Warrington and  (b) other North West housing hotspots.

Iain Wright: holding answer 3 December 2007
	Funding for housing is distributed between the regions on the basis of an analysis of relative need which takes account of local authority need. North-west housing hotspots would be reflected in this analysis. Announcements as to the levels of funding to be made available in the north-west over the next three years for affordable housing will be made shortly.
	The funding is being made available to bids from both housing associations, developers and local authorities through the Housing Corporation's bidding round for the National Affordable Housing Programme. Investment in 2008-11 and completions in particular locations will depend on the bids received by the Housing Corporation.

Housing: Overcrowding

Mark Lancaster: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what criteria her Department uses to determine whether a  (a) one,  (b) two and  (c) three bedroom property is overcrowded.

Iain Wright: The existing statutory overcrowding standards are set out in Part 10 of the Housing Act 1985—a dwelling is overcrowded when the number of people sleeping in the dwelling contravenes either the room standard or the space standard:
	The room standard is breached if the number of people sleeping in a dwelling, and the number of rooms available as sleeping accommodation, are such that two people of opposite sexes who are not living together as husband and wife must sleep in the same room. Children under 10 do not count.
	The space standard specifies the maximum number of people who may sleep in a dwelling, and in the available rooms within it, having regard to (i) the number of available rooms of 50 square feet or more and (ii) the floor area in each room. Two calculations are required and the lower number applies. Babies under one year old do not count, and children between one and 10 count as half.
	For the purposes of these standards, a room is considered to be "available as sleeping accommodation" if it is "of a type normally used in the locality either as a bedroom or a living room".

Independent Infrastructure Planning Commission

Mark Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many members the proposed Independent Infrastructure Planning Commission will have; and how many of them will be appointed by  (a) the Welsh Assembly Government and  (b) the Scottish Executive.

John Healey: The White Paper "Planning for a Sustainable Future" (CM7120) outlined that the number of Commissioners would depend on the Commission's workload, but that we expect that the Commission might require between 20-30 Commissioners. All of the Commissioners would be appointed by the Secretary of State. The Secretary of State will ask Welsh Ministers for nominations for 2-3 of these posts, reflecting the role of the Commission in determining nationally significant energy infrastructure projects in Wales. The Infrastructure Planning Commission will have no role in determining projects in Scotland, and so no nominations will be sought from Scottish Ministers.

Licensing Laws

Kate Hoey: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what representations have been made to her Department on the use of temporary events notices; what assessment her Department has made of the use of temporary events notices instead of regular licensing; and how many temporary events notices have been  (a) applied for and  (b) granted in each London borough in each of the last three years.

Gerry Sutcliffe: I have been asked to reply.
	We have received a number of representations on the use of Temporary Event Notices (TENs). These have included some calls for an increase to the number that can be given in one year, with others calling for a decrease. My right hon. Friend the Member for St. Helens, South (Mr. Woodward), made a ministerial written statement on 5 July 2006,  Official Report, column 39WS, which stated that the Government had no plans to change limits. The Government also stated in their Memorandum on Re-licensing, sent to the Select Committee on Communities and Local Government on 10 January 2007, that while there had been some representations about licensed premises using TENs to operate additional hours or activities which have not been included on the full licence, the Government believed that the existing limit was sufficient. In the Report of the Independent Fees Review Panel, chaired by Sir Les Elton, the Panel recommended that the TENs limit be increased from 12 to 15 each year. The Government will respond to the Panel's report in due course.
	It is not possible to provide the information in the format requested as TENs did not exist until 24 November 2005, when the Licensing Act 2003 came into force, and there is no data held centrally that shows figures prior to 1 April 2006. The following table shows how many (TENs) were given during the 12 month period to 31 March 2007 across the licensing authorities in London which cover London borough areas.
	
		
			  Licensing authority  Valid temporary event notices given to licensing authority  Counter notices given following police objection  Counter notices given where limits exceeded 
			 Barking and Dagenham 225 0 0 
			 Barnet 463 0 0 
			 Bexley 285 4 0 
			 Brent 247 0 0 
			 Bromley 1,564 5 1 
			 Camden — — — 
			 City of London Corporation 321 0 0 
			 Croydon 398 2 32 
			 Ealing 450 4 0 
			 Enfield 459 0 0 
			 Greenwich 264 0 0 
			 Hackney 606 4 14 
			 Hammersmith and Fulham 394 0 2 
			 Haringey 330 5 0 
			 Harrow 285 0 4 
			 Havering 379 0 0 
			 Hillingdon 335 0 0 
			 Hounslow — — — 
			 Islington 560 0 0 
			 Kensington and Chelsea 331 2 1 
			 Kingston upon Thames 223 0 0 
			 Lambeth 402 0 3 
			 Lewisham 327 0 0 
			 Merton 390 0 0 
			 Newham 178 1 0 
			 Redbridge 264 3 0 
			 Richmond upon Thames 722 0 0 
			 Southwark — — — 
			 Sutton 354 0 0 
			 Tower Hamlets 513 — — 
			 Waltham Forest 184 0 1 
			 Wandsworth 596 0 — 
			 Westminster 2,023 0 19 
			  Note:  Where there are blank cells in the table, information was not provided by the licensing authority. Valid temporary event notices given includes notices which were subsequently withdrawn.

Planning

Eric Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government pursuant to her answer of 26 November 2007,  Official Report, column 139, on planning, if she will place in the Library copies of all correspondence and documentation relating to the Durham Green Business Park planning application and development, held by  (a) her Department and  (b) the Government Office for the North East.

Hazel Blears: holding answer 3 December 2007
	My Department and the Government Office North East hold no such correspondence or documentation.
	The Durham Green Business Park planning proposal was nominated by the local authority (Durham city council) for inclusion in the pilot for Planning Delivery Agreements (PDAs, which have since been renamed to Planning Performance Agreements) and all nominations were accepted. This pilot was run jointly by the Planning Advisory Service (part of the Improvement and Development Agency), and the Advisory Team on Large Applications (part of English Partnerships). Neither of these bodies have any role in determining the outcome of planning applications. PDAs are not about determining applications they are about ensuring efficient working processes on a local level when dealing with large or complex projects. Ministers were not involved in the selection of proposals for the pilot. All documentation relating to the Durham Green Business Park held by the Planning Advisory Service has been placed in the Library today.

Planning Permission: Public Participation

Patricia Hewitt: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government 
	(1)  when her Department last reviewed the guidelines or regulations on how local councils communicate with residents about planning applications affecting their neighbourhood;
	(2)  if she will encourage local authorities to make full use of the internet to enable interested local residents to be informed by e-mail of any planning application made within their neighbourhood;
	(3)  if she will review the guidance given to local authorities on informing local residents of planning applications in their neighbourhood;
	(4)  what statutory requirements her Department imposes upon local authorities in relation to informing local residents of planning applications that affect their neighbourhood;
	(5)  what advice her Department provides to local authorities on how to inform local residents of a planning application in their neighbourhood.

Iain Wright: Article 8 of the Town and Country Planning (General Development Procedure) Order (the GDPO) 1995 sets out the duties of local planning authorities to publicise the planning applications they receive, in order to invite comments on development proposals from third parties. Guidance on those duties is provided by Department of the Environment Circular 15/92, "Publicity for Planning Applications".
	The GDPO requires the local planning authority to publicise planning applications, either by a site notice or by notification to neighbours. In addition, local advertisement in a newspaper is required for applications for planning permission for 'major' applications which is defined as minerals applications, waste development, the provision of dwellings (where more than 10 provided or site is 0.5ha or over), a building with floor space of 1,000 m(2) or over, development on a site of 1 ha or over, and also listed building consent and conservation area consent. Local planning authorities may also use their websites to publicise planning applications.
	In June 2004, the then Office of the Deputy Prime Minister published the report "Review of the Publicity Requirements for Planning Applications" evaluating the effectiveness of publicity requirements.
	In the 2007 Planning White Paper "Planning for a Sustainable Future", the Government proposed a review and simplification of the GDPO.
	We are encouraging local planning authorities to use the internet to notify residents of planning applications by constructing an 'e-Consultation Hub' to be run by the Planning Portal. It is envisaged that citizens will be able to register their interest and be notified of any applications in their area, and then respond (if they wish to) online direct to the local planning authority.
	We have also given a commitment in the Planning White Paper that the hub will be constructed and come into operation by April 2008. However, in the first instance, the service will link statutory consultees and local planning authorities, with citizen services being implemented soon after.

Regional Planning and Development: Government Office for the South East

Eric Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what plans the Government Office of the South East has to  (a) review and  (b) designate Areas of Great Landscape Value in local development frameworks; and what guidance her Department has provided on this.

Iain Wright: The Government office for the south-east has no plans to review or designate Areas of Great Landscape Value in local development frameworks. These are local rather than national designations which have been created by local planning authorities. Government guidance on local landscape designations is provided in Planning Policy Statement 7 (PPS7): Sustainable Development in Rural Areas. This advises that local landscape designations should be maintained only or, exceptionally, extended where it can be clearly shown that criteria-based planning policies cannot provide the necessary protection. PPS7 also states that, when reviewing their local area-wide development plans and local development documents, planning authorities should rigorously consider the justification for retaining existing local landscape designations. They should ensure that such designations are based on a formal and robust assessment of the qualities of the landscape concerned.

Regional Planning and Development: Greenbelt

Eric Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government if she will make it her policy that no regional spatial strategy approved by her will entail  (a) developments on the green belt and  (b) reviews of the green belt with a view to development.

Parmjit Dhanda: National policy on green belt is set out in Planning Policy Guidance Note 2: Green Belts. One of the principles of the policy is that, where necessary, green belt boundaries are strategically reviewed. Boundaries can be changed only in exceptional circumstances and after public consultation and examination through the plan process. The Regional Spatial Strategy is the appropriate setting for strategic green belt reviews to be considered, with detailed boundaries being a matter for local authorities.
	The Government have set a target that overall there should be
	"no net change, or an increase, in the area of designated Green Belt land in each region."
	Since 1997, excluding the re-designation of the New Forest from Green belt to National Park, the Green Belt in England has grown by 25,900 hectares.

Right to Buy Scheme: Finance

Austin Mitchell: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how much Right to Buy capital was set aside in each year since the scheme started; and to what extent each local authority has used set aside capital to repay historical debt.

Iain Wright: Under the 'set-aside' regime, which ran until 1 April 2004, with-debt local authorities were required to set aside a proportion of the capital receipt generated by the disposal of a Housing Revenue Account (HRA) asset, upon disposal of that asset, for repayment of housing debt. Debt-free authorities were free to use their receipts for any capital purpose they saw fit.
	The Department recorded the value of capital receipts set-aside and continues to record the value of right-to-buy (RTB) sales. However, these are separate exercises. The manner in which the data are collected means that no differentiation is made between RTB sales and other disposals of housing assets resulting in a capital receipt that goes to make up that set-aside total for a local authority.
	The following table shows the value of capital receipts set-aside from 1995-96 to 2003-04 (the last year in which the set-aside regime existed). When set-aside exceeds RTB capital receipts it is because set-aside includes a proportion of receipts from not only RTB but also whole-stock transfers, non-RTB dwelling sales and sales of other HRA assets such as housing land.
	
		
			  £ million 
			   Set-aside  Right to buy receipts 
			 1995-96 860 (1)— 
			 1996-97 637 (1)— 
			 1997-98 943 890 
			 1998-99 1,085 911 
			 1999-2000 1,477 1,374 
			 2000-01 1,626 1,426 
			 2001-02 1,382 1,566 
			 2002-03 1,857 2,210 
			 2003-04 (1)— 2,936 
			 (1) No data. 
		
	
	Pre 1997-98 data are available only at disproportionate cost.
	The Department does not collect data on whether local authorities actually used the set-aside generated by disposals to repay housing debt. For the purposes of HRA subsidy it was assumed that the set-aside was used to repay housing debt.

Translation Services

Paul Goodman: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government when she plans to issue guidance on translation services for local authorities, Government Departments and their agencies; and if she will make a statement.

Parmjit Dhanda: Guidance for local authorities on the translation of publications will be issued shortly.

Community Care Grants

Terry Rooney: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions 
	(1)  what percentage of community care grant applications were granted  (a) in total and  (b) at each benefit delivery centre in 2006-07;
	(2)  what the average time was to process a community care grant application  (a) in total and  (b) at each benefit delivery centre in 2006-07;
	(3)  how many outstanding community care grant applications there were at each benefit delivery centre in each month since March;
	(4)  what assessment he has made of levels of financial hardship resulting from the time taken in processing community care grants.

James Plaskitt: holding answers 21 November 2007
	The administration of Jobcentre Plus is a matter for the Chief Executive of Jobcentre Plus, Lesley Strathie. I have asked her to provide my hon. Friend with the information requested.
	 Letter from Lesley Strathie, dated 4 December 2007:
	The Secretary of State has asked me to reply to your questions asking what percentage of Community Care Grant applications were granted in total and at each benefit delivery centre in 2006-07; what the average time was to process a Community Care Grant application in total and at each benefit delivery centre in 2006-07; how many outstanding Community Care Grant applications there were at each benefit delivery centre in each month since March and what assessment has been made of levels of financial hardship resulting from the time taken in processing Community Care Grants. This is something which falls within the responsibilities delegated to me as Chief Executive of Jobcentre Plus.
	The percentage of Community Care Grant applications processed which were granted in total and at each Social Fund operating unit in 2006-07 is in table 1. This does not include applications which were initially refused but later granted on review. The average time taken to process a Community Care Grant application and at each Social Fund operating unit in 2006-07 is in table 2.
	The processing time for an individual application is measured in whole working days from the date of receipt of the application to the date of the decision, inclusive. The minimum processing time recorded for an individual application is one day, even if the application is processed immediately.
	The number of outstanding Community Care Grant applications at each benefit delivery centre at the end of each month from March to October 2007 is in table 3.
	Copies of the tables have been placed in the House of Commons Library.
	No assessment has been made of levels of financial hardship resulting from the time taken in processing Community Care Grants. However, we have plans in place to improve our performance on Community Care Grant clearance times.
	I hope this is helpful.

Departmental Publicity

Philip Hammond: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how much his Department and its agencies spent on staff working on  (a) marketing and  (b) branding in the last 12 month period for which figures are available.

Anne McGuire: The figures noted in the following table represent the costs for staff working in Branding and Marketing in the Department and its agencies. Figures used are for the last financial year (2006-07). It is not possible to separate Branding and Marketing, without obtaining disproportionate cost.
	
		
			  Agency  Cost (£000) 
			 Child Support Agency 125 
			 DWP Corporate 1,197 
			 Disability and Carers Service 32 
			 Health and Safety Executive 84 
			 Jobcentre Plus 3,900 
			 The Pension Service 304 
			 The Rent Service 155 
			 Total 5,797

Disability Living Allowance: Forms

Mark Oaten: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what assessment he has made of the ease of completing disability living allowance application forms; and if he will  (a) bring forward proposals to review the format of the forms and  (b) consults the National Autistic Society on their recommendations for changes to the application process.

Anne McGuire: holding answer 26 November 2007
	The administration of disability living allowance is a matter for the Acting Chief Executive of the Disability and Carers Service, Mrs. Vivien Hopkins. She will write to the hon. Member with the information requested.
	 Letter from Vivien Hopkins, dated 4 December 2007:
	You asked the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment he has made of the ease of completing disability living allowance application forms; and if he will (a) bring forward proposals to review the format of the forms and (b) consults the National Autistic Society on their recommendations for changes to the application process.
	The Minister for Disabled People, Anne McGuire MP, promised you a substantive reply from the Acting Chief Executive of the Disability and Carers Service.
	We have a long standing commitment to improving our service to our customers, including identifying and implementing improvements to claim forms for Disability Living Allowance (DLA).
	By way of background the claim form has to cater for the fact that disabling conditions affect different people in different ways, varying enormously from individual to individual, and may also change over time in a way that is not always easy to predict.
	For these reasons it is vital that each person has the opportunity to explain, on the claim form, exactly how their disability affects their personal care and mobility needs. In addition, over 70% of DLA working age customers have more than one medical condition and forms must therefore allow customers to explain the needs arising from physical, mental or sensory impairments, or any combination of these.
	Since September 2005, we have aimed to better balance the needs of both our customers and our decision makers by changing the format of our claim forms to a tick box format with more specific questions. This enables the customer to focus more easily on the information required and simplifies completion by the customer, carer or representative. At the same time, it provides the level of detail that DCS decision makers need to understand the impact of the customer's medical condition on their daily life, when considering the legislative criteria for entitlement. The forms allow the customer to provide additional detail in free text, if necessary.
	In developing a new claim form for DLA customers of working age, customer research was conducted using qualitative methods, and extensive consultation with the DCS Advisory Forum (DCS AF) was undertaken. The first version of a new DLA claim form was introduced in September 2005 and used for 6 months in the Bootle and Manchester areas. An amended version was introduced in April 2006 following further consultation with the DCS AF and this version was fully evaluated.
	The evaluation undertaken found that customers were significantly more satisfied with the new claim form than had been the case in the 2005/2006 MORI survey of DCS customers about the national claim forms. Staff, and decision makers in particular, were also generally positive about the new form compared to the previous version, particularly the inclusion of tick boxes.
	Further revisions were made to the form as a result of ongoing evaluation and feedback, resulting in the new DLA 1 Adult claim form that was rolled out for national use in April 2007.
	I now turn to part (b) of your question asking if DCS will consult with the National Autistic Society on their recommendations for changes to the application process. I can confirm that we are currently working with key stakeholders, including parents and representatives of children's welfare organisations, to consider the issues around the application process for children, including possible revisions to the DLA Child claim form. The National Autistic Society is one of the groups represented and they are therefore aware of the potential changes to the DLA Child claim form.
	This work is at an early stage and development of a revised version of a DLA Child claim form for testing and evaluation is planned during 2008.
	Please let me know if I can help further.

Housing Benefit: Greater London

Karen Buck: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what the median housing benefit payment made to claimants was in the private rented sector in each London local authority in 2006.

James Plaskitt: The median average amount for housing benefit cannot be given as the data held is aggregate data. A mean average amount has been provided instead in the following table
	
		
			  Average weekly amount of housing benefit paid to private rented sector tenants by London local authorities: February, May, August and November 2006 
			   Average weekly amount( 1)  (£) 
			 London Government Office Region 137.94 
			   
			 Barking 128.42 
			 Barnet 150.35 
			 Bexley 120.04 
			 Brent 143.23 
			 Bromley 129.84 
			 Camden 146.42 
			 City of London 121.41 
			 Croydon 136.99 
			 Ealing 142.85 
			 Enfield 140.82 
			 Greenwich 122.77 
			 Hackney 145.63 
			 Hammersmith and Fulham 143.99 
			 Haringey 124.61 
			 Harrow 153.47 
			 Havering 121.66 
			 Hillingdon 134.58 
			 Hounslow 132.50 
			 Islington 130.54 
			 Kensington and Chelsea 182.21 
			 Kingston upon Thames 136.11 
			 Lambeth 119.93 
			 Lewisham 129.16 
			 Merton 136.19 
			 Newham 126.43 
			 Redbridge 135.17 
			 Richmond upon Thames 132.68 
			 Southwark 123.78 
			 Sutton 128.33 
			 Tower Hamlets 151.24 
			 Waltham Forest 118.61 
			 Wandsworth 159.13 
			 Westminster 185.63 
			 (1) Amounts are a weighted four quarter average of data at February, May, August and November 2006.  Notes: 1. Amounts have been shown to the nearest penny. 2. Housing benefit figures exclude any extended payment cases. 3. The data refers to benefit units, which may be a single person or a couple. 4. Figures for non-responding local authorities have been estimated.  Source: Housing Benefit and Council Tax Benefit Management Information System Quarterly 100 per cent. scan taken in February, May, August and November 2006.

Jobcentre Plus: Standards

Frank Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions pursuant to the 56th Report of the Public Accounts Committee, Session 2006-07 HC 312, if he will monitor the performance of Jobcentre Plus by the exit to employment successes of individual personal advisers.

Caroline Flint: The administration of Jobcentre Plus is a matter for the Chief Executive of Jobcentre Plus, Lesley Strathie. I have asked her to provide the right hon. Gentlemen with the information requested.
	 Letter from Lesley Strathie, dated 4 December 2007:
	The Secretary of State has asked me to reply to your question asking if he will monitor the performance of Jobcentre Plus by the exit to employment successes of individual personal advisers. This is something which falls within the responsibilities delegated to me as Chief Executive of Jobcentre Plus.
	We have no plans to monitor the performance of Jobcentre Plus by the exit to employment successes of individual personal advisers. However, we will continue to monitor our success in helping people into work at national and district level through the Job Outcome Target.

Jobseeker's Allowance

Terry Rooney: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions whether a claimant may be refused jobseeker's allowance on the grounds of having voluntarily left employment where they have done so following  (a) domestic violence,  (b) bereavement and  (c) dismissal because of inability to meet the conditions of employment due to child care responsibilities.

James Plaskitt: The Jobseeker's Act 1995 states to receive jobseeker's allowance a claimant's unemployment must be involuntary. An independent decision maker will consider why a claimant's employment has ended and whether they had just cause. All the factors in which the claimant's employment ended will be considered as a whole, including personal or domestic life aspects. Where domestic violence, bereavement or child care responsibilities are factors they will be taken into account.

Local Employment Partnerships

Mark Harper: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many companies are participating in local employment partnerships.

Caroline Flint: So far, 225 employers have agreed to participate in Local Employment Partnerships. 85 of these have already started to implement their partnerships.

Pension Protection Fund

Nigel Waterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions 
	(1)  what information was used to calculate invoices for the Pension Protection Fund in 2006-07;
	(2)  what information was used to calculate the levies for the Pension Protection Fund in 2006-07; and if he will make a statement.

Mike O'Brien: The Pension Protection Fund (PPF) is partly funded by a Pension Protection Levy and an Administration Levy on all eligible defined-benefit occupational pension schemes. The PPF is also funded by the assets of schemes that transfer into the PPF and the investment returns of these assets.
	The Administration Levy is set by the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions under section 117 of the Pensions Act 2004 and is calculated and payable based on the number of members in an eligible scheme. The Administration Levy is imposed in respect of eligible schemes for the purpose of meeting the running costs of the PPF and the Fraud Compensation Fund.
	Section 175 of the Pensions Act 2004 provides that the board of the PPF must impose a Pension Protection Levy which is comprised of a scheme-based element (20 per cent.) and a risk-based element (80 per cent.). The Pension Protection Levy is invested to pay compensation to members of eligible defined-benefit occupational pension schemes, when there is a qualifying insolvency event in relation to an employer and where there are insufficient assets in a pension scheme to cover PPF levels of compensation. Section 181 of the Pensions Act 2004 provides that the calculation of the Pension Protection Levy in respect of eligible schemes is a matter for the board of the PPF.
	A guide to the Pension Protection Levy 2006-07 is available on the Pension Protection Fund's website at:
	http://www.pensionprotectionfund.org.uk/levy_guide_0607.pdf
	The calculation of invoices is also a matter for the PPF board and I have asked the chief executive of the PPF, Partha Dasgupta, to write to you on these matters.

Pension Protection Fund

Nigel Waterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many service calls on invoicing issues were recorded by the Pension Protection Fund in each month since the fund began operating.

Mike O'Brien: The PPF receives a range of inquiries in respect of the levy including questions, queries and remittance advice. The broad split was 1,237 (19 per cent.) in respect of levy policy and 5,238 (81 per cent.) in respect of data used for the levy.
	I have asked Partha Dasgupta, the Chief Executive of the PPF to write to you on this matter.

Pensions

Danny Alexander: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many  (a) pensioners and  (b) pensioner households (i) were eligible and (ii) took up pension credits in each of the last five years.

Mike O'Brien: Estimates of the number of pensioner households eligible for pension credit and the number and proportion that take-up pension credit for 2003-04 to 2005-06 can be obtained from the last two 'Income Related Benefits Estimates of Take-Up' reports. Copies are available in the Library.
	The 2005-06 report is the latest available, therefore eligibility and take-up figures are not available for 2007.
	The number of households receiving pension credit as at May 2007 was 2.73 million and the number of individual beneficiaries as at May 2007 was 3.34 million.
	 Notes:
	1. The number of households in receipt are rounded to the nearest 10.
	2. Household recipients are those people who claim pension credit either for themselves only or on behalf of a household.
	 Source: DWP Work and Pensions Longitudinal Study 100 per cent. data.

Social Security Benefits: Wrexham

Ian Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions 
	(1)  what percentage of children lived in families claiming benefits in each ward in Wrexham in each year since 1997;
	(2)  what percentage of children lived in families in receipt of disability benefits in each ward in Wrexham in each year since 1997.

Caroline Flint: The available information is in the following table.
	
		
			  Children living in families claiming workless benefits and disability benefits in each ward in Wrexham 
			   Percentage of children in families on workless benefits aged 0-15( 1)  Percentage of children in families on disability benefits aged 0-15( 2) 
			  Ward name  April 2004  April 2005  April 2006  April 2006 
			 Acton 25.9 23.2 23.4 7.7 
			 Borras Park 4.4 4.8 3.4 2.5 
			 Bronington 5.0 4.1 3.3 2.6 
			 Brymbo 23.6 26.5 25.1 6.5 
			 Brynyffynnon 17.7 16.1 16.9 3.1 
			 Bryn Cefn 22.1 22.9 20.7 4.1 
			 Cartrefle 41.3 41.4 36.3 8.3 
			 Cefn 21.5 20.8 21.4 5.6 
			 Dyffryn 10.2 11.7 11.2 4.2 
			 Ceiriog/Ceiriog Valley 
			 Chirk North 18.7 17.1 14.7 3.6 
			 Chirk South 15.6 19.8 14.6 3.9 
			 Coedpoeth 21.7 20.8 17.9 3.1 
			 Erddig 11.2 9.1 9.4 5.6 
			 Esclusham 15.5 14.9 14.0 3.7 
			 Garden Village 6.7 3.0 2.5 1.3 
			 Gresford East and West 7.6 7.6 5.5 3.1 
			 Grosvenor 15.8 13.6 14.7 8.2 
			 Gwenfro 34.6 30.0 29.7 6.9 
			 Gwersyllt East and South 18.9 18.8 18.5 5.0 
			 Gwersyllt North 31.1 29.1 30.0 7.2 
			 Gwersyllt West 20.4 21.0 17.4 4.9 
			 Hermitage 30.9 30.2 30.6 3.8 
			 Holt 10.0 7.9 9.0 3.0 
			 Johnstown 18.6 17.4 16.8 2.9 
			 Little Acton 6.7 7.0 7.3 5.4 
			 Llangollen Rural 16.1 16.7 11.3 3.9 
			 Llay 19.2 20.3 20.8 3.9 
			 Maesydre 20.4 13.4 12.5 6.4 
			 Marchwiel 12.0 11.3 9.5 1.9 
			 Marford and Hoseley 1.4 1.6 3.2 1.4 
			 Minera 11.3 11.7 7.1 2.6 
			 New Broughton 20.1 19.8 16.7 3.5 
			 Offa 18.9 17.0 10.7 2.5 
			 Overton 8.4 9.5 11.0 1.7 
			 Pant 32.1 35.0 32.3 3.4 
			 Penycae 37.2 37.7 32.2 4.9 
			 Penycae and Ruabon South 15.8 15.5 15.2 3.7 
			 Plas Madoc 54.8 51.6 49.4 7.9 
			 Ponciau 17.8 16.6 15.0 4.3 
			 Queensway 54.4 53.1 50.6 3.8 
			 Rhosnesni 6.7 9.2 8.5 4.8 
			 Rossett 6.4 6.0 4.2 1.5 
			 Ruabon 21.5 22.5 21.4 6.2 
			 Smithfield 22.8 22.3 22.6 2.8 
			 Stansty 16.7 16.4 13.1 5.0 
			 Whitegate 30.4 25.7 21.8 4.3 
			 Wynnstay 54.9 53.4 52.9 7.2 
			 (1) (1) Workless benefits' data represent children dependent on a parent/guardian who is claiming one or more of incapacity benefit (IB), severe disablement allowance (SDA), jobseeker's allowance (JSA), income support (IS) or pension credit (PC). (2) 'Disability benefits' data represent children dependent on a parent/guardian who is claiming disability living allowance or attendance allowance. Information on these benefits is not available from this source prior to April 2006 as they were not required in the original specifications.  Notes: 1. All data represents a single snapshot in time of claimants on the computer system, and will therefore exclude a very small number of cases that are held clerically. The data are produced once a year. 2. Geo-referencing tools, obtained from the Office of National Statistics, have been used to assign claimants to geographies. 3. Due to the introduction of child tax credits in April 2003, information on child dependents are not reliably completed on the benefit computer system, therefore data from child benefit records has been merged onto IS/JSA/IB/SDA/PC claims with the permission of HMRC. The total numbers of children on child benefit has been used as the denominator for the percentages given. 4. The data on workless benefits are only available from April 2004, and from April 2006 for disability benefits. 5. It is possible that there will be some overlap of the figures as children could be in families that are in receipt of both workless and disability benefits.  Source: Information Directorate

Bailiffs

Chris Mullin: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what representations he has received on the conduct of the bailiffs, Phillips Ltd.; and if he will make a statement.

Maria Eagle: I have received two pieces of correspondence about the bailiff company Philips. The first from my right hon. Friend the Member for Walsall, South (Mr. George) which was seeking clarification of their role in enforcing court imposed fines, the second from the hon. Member for Ludlow (Mr. Dunne), in connection with an incorrectly addressed letter sent by Philips.
	Philips is contracted by Her Majesty's Courts Service (HMCS) in the Midlands and North East Regions, to execute distress and financial arrest warrants and clamping orders on behalf of HMCS, where the defendant has failed to respond to communications and attempts from the court to enforce the fine.
	My hon. Friend may be aware of an article in the Civil Enforcement News magazine which raised the concerns of Washington Citizens Advice Bureau (CAB) about the conduct of Philips when enforcing fines. Officials from HMCS have recently met with the Washington CAB to explain the enforcement process carried out by HMCS and the role of Philips once a distress warrant has been issued to them. A joint meeting between HMCS, CAB and Philips is due to take place in early January 2008.

Courts

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many Crown courts there are; where each is located; and how many judges are attached to each court.

Maria Eagle: The Crown court is a single court, which currently sits at 91 locations (listed in table A). Under the provisions of section 8 Supreme Court Act 1981 all High Court judges, Circuit judges, Recorders, and District judges (magistrates courts) are judges of the Crown court, as are magistrates sitting in the Crown court on appeal from magistrates courts.
	Under section 9 Supreme Court Act 1981 the Lord Chief Justice can also ask Lords Justices, retired Lords Justices, and retired High Court judges to sit as judges of the Crown court. All judges of the Crown court have the full jurisdiction of the court. Judicial resources are allocated according to the number and types of cases to be heard. The number of judges attached to each court is not held centrally and could be obtained only by contacting each court. The total number of judges is shown in table B.
	
		
			  Table A 
			  Courthouse name  Address 
			 Aylesbury Crown Court 38 Market Square, Aylesbury, HP20 1XF 
			 Barnstaple Crown and Magistrates Court Civic Centre, Barnstaple, EX31 1DY 
			 Barrow Crown, Magistrates and County Court Abbey Road, Barrow in Furness , LA14 5QX 
			 Basildon Combined Court Regent House, Basildon, SS14 2EU 
			 Birmingham Crown Court QE2 Law Courts, Birmingham, B4 7NA 
			 Blackfriars Crown Court 1 Pocock Street, London, SE1 0BT 
			 Bolton Combined Court The Law Courts, Bolton, BL1 1SU 
			 Bournemouth Combined Court Wessex Fields, Bournemouth, BH7 7DU 
			 Bradford Combined Court Drake Street, Bradford, BD1 1JA 
			 Bristol Crown Court Small Street, Bristol, BS1 1DA 
			 Burnley Combined Court Hammerton Street, Burnley, BB11 1XE 
			 Bury St. Edmunds Crown and Magistrates Court Shirehall, Bury St. Edmunds, IP1 2DX 
			 Caernarfon Crown Court Castle Ditch Road, Caernarfon, LL55 2AY 
			 Cambridge Criminal Justice Centre 84 East Road, Cambridge, CB1 1BY 
			 Canterbury Combined Court Chaucer Barracks, Canterbury, CT1 1ZA 
			 Cardiff Crown Court Cathays Park, Cardiff, CF1 3PG 
			 Carlisle Combined Court Earl Street, Carlisle, CA1 1DJ 
			 Central Criminal Court Old Bailey, London, EC4M 7EH 
			 Chelmsford Crown Court New Street, Chelmsford, CM1 1EL 
			 Chester Crown Court The Castle, Chester, CH1 2AN 
			 Chichester Combined Court 41/42 Southgate, Chichester, PO19 1SX 
			 Coventry Combined Court 140 Much Park Street, Coventry, CV1 2SN 
			 Croydon Combined Court Altyre Road, Croydon, CR9 5AB 
			 Derby Combined Court The Morledge, Derby, DEI 2XE 
			 Dolgellau Magistrates and Crown Court County Hall, Dolgellau, LL40 1AU 
			 Doncaster Crown Court Crown Court Offices, Doncaster, DN1 3HS 
			 Durham Crown Court Old Elvet, Durham, DH1 3HW 
			 Exeter Combined Court Centre Southernhay Gardens, Exeter, EX4 3TH 
			 Gloucester Crown Court Shire Hall, Gloucester, GL1 2TG 
			 Great Grimsby Combined Court Town Hall Square, Grimsby, DN31 1HX 
			 Guildford Crown Court Bedford Road, Guildford, GUI 4ST 
			 Harrow Crown Court Hailsham Drive, Harrow, HA1 4TU 
			 Haverfordwest Crown, Magistrates and County Court Penffynnon, Haverfordwest, SA61 2AZ 
			 Hereford Crown Court Shire Hall, Hereford, HR1 2HW 
			 Hove Trial Centre The Court House, Hove, BN3 3BN 
			 Hull Combined Court Lowgate, Hull , HU1 2EZ 
			 Inner London Sessions House (Swan Street) Swan Street, London, SE1 1DF 
			 Ipswich Criminal Justice Centre Chancery Road, Ipswich, IP1 2DX 
			 Isleworth Crown Court 36 Ridgeway Road, Isleworth, TW7 5LP 
			 Kings Lynn Crown and Magistrates Court 1 St. Margarets Place, Kings Lynn, PE30 1PQ 
			 Kingston Upon Thames Crown Court 6-8 Penryn Road, Kingston, KT1 2BB 
			 Knutsford Crown Court County Sessions House, Knutsford, WA16 0PB 
			 Lancaster Crown Court The Castle, Lancaster, LA1 1YJ 
			 Leeds Combined Court 1 Oxford Row, Leeds, LSI 3BG 
			 Leicester Crown Court 90 Wellington Street, Leicester, LEI 6HG 
			 Lewes Combined Court 182 High Street, Lewes, BN7 1YB 
			 Lincoln Crown Court The Castle Courthouse, Lincoln, LN1 3DA 
			 Liverpool Combined Court QEII Law Courts, Liverpool, L2 1XA 
			 Luton Crown Court 7/9 George Street, Luton, LU1 2AA 
			 Maidstone Combined Court Barker Road, Maidstone, ME16 8EQ 
			 Manchester Crown and County Courts Courts Of Justice, Manchester, M60 9DJ 
			 Manchester Crown Court Minshull Street, Manchester, Ml 3FS 
			 Merthyr Tydfil Combined Court Glebeland Place, Merthyr Tydfil, CF47 8BH 
			 Mold Combined Court Centre Shirehall, Mold, CH7 1AE 
			 Newcastle Crown Court (Law Courts) The Law Courts, Newcastle, NE1 3LA 
			 Newport (IoW) Court Centre Quay Street , Newport , PO30 5BB 
			 Newport Crown Court Faulkner Road, Newport, NP9 4PD 
			 Northampton Combined Court 85-87 Ladys Lane, Northampton, NN1 3HQ 
			 Norwich Combined Court Bishopgate, Norwich, NR3 1UR 
			 Nottingham Crown and County Court 60 Canal Street, Nottingham, NG1 7EJ 
			 Oxford Combined Court Centre 62-74 St. Aldates, Oxford, OX1 1TL 
			 Peterborough Combined Court Rivergate, Peterborough, PE1 1EJ 
			 Plymouth Combined Court Armada Way, Plymouth, PL1 2ER 
			 Portsmouth Combined Court The Courts of Justice, Portsmouth, PO1 2DL 
			 Preston Crown Court Sessions House, Preston, PR1 2PD 
			 Reading Crown Court Old Shire Hall, Reading, RG1 3EH 
			 Salisbury Combined Court Alexandra House, Salisbury, SP1 2PJ 
			 Sheffield Combined Court The Law Courts, Sheffield, S3 8PH 
			 Shrewsbury Crown Court Shire Hall, Shrewsbury, SY2 6LU 
			 Snaresbrook Crown Court Hollybush Hill, London, E11 1QW 
			 Southampton Combined Court London Road, Southampton, SO9 5AF 
			 Southend Magistrates Court 80 Victoria Avenue, Southend-On-Sea , SS2 6EG 
			 Southwark Crown Court 1 English Grounds, London, SE1 2HU 
			 St. Albans Crown Court Bricket Road, St. Albans, AL1 3JY 
			 Stafford Combined Court Victoria Square, Stafford, ST16 2QQ 
			 Stoke On Trent Combined Court Bethesda Street, Stoke on Trent, ST1 3BP 
			 Swansea Crown Court The Guildhall, Swansea, SA1 4PE 
			 Swindon Combined Court Islington Road, Swindon, SN1 2HG 
			 Taunton Combined Court The Shire Hall, Taunton, TA1 4EN 
			 Teesside Combined Court Russell Street, Middlesbrough, TS1 1AE 
			 Truro Combined Court Courts of Justice, Truro, TR1 2PB 
			 Warrington Combined Court Legh Street, Warrington, WA1 1UR 
			 Warwick Combined Court Shire Hall, Warwick, CV34 4SP 
			 Welshpool Crown and County Court Mansion House, Welshpool, SY21 7UX 
			 Weymouth and Dorchester Combined Court County Hall, Dorchester, DT1 1XJ 
			 Winchester Combined Court The Law Courts, Winchester, SO23 9EL 
			 Wolverhampton Combined Court Pipers Row, Wolverhampton, WV1 3LQ 
			 Wood Green Crown Court Woodhall House, London, N22 5LF 
			 Woolwich Crown Court 2 Belmarsh Road, London, SE28 0EY 
			 Worcester Combined Court Shire Hall, Worcester, WR1 1TR 
			 York Crown Court The Castle, York, YO1 9WZ 
		
	
	
		
			  Table B 
			  Post  Total 
			 Lords Appeal in Ordinary 12 
			 Heads of Division (excluding the Lord Chancellor) 4 
			 Lord Justices of Appeal 37 
			 High Court Judges 108 
			 Circuit Judges (inc. TCC) 639 
			 Recorders 1,206 
			 District Judges (inc. Family Division) 450 
			 Deputy District Judges (inc. Family Division) 780 
			 District Judges (MC) 139 
			 Deputy District Judges 169 
			 Total 3,544

Office of the Information Commissioner: Finance

James Brokenshire: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice pursuant to the answer of 27 November 2007,  Official Report, columns 303-4W, on the Office of the Information Commissioner: finance, if he will review the appropriateness of the funding arrangements for the information responsibilities of the Information Commissioner's Office.

Michael Wills: The Information Commissioner's data protection work is funded by the retention of notification fees paid by data controllers under section 26 of the Data Protection Act. My Department continues to engage constructively with him on the resource implications of the additional inspection powers announced by the Prime Minister on 21 November 2007,  Official Report, column 1179. My Department provides a yearly grant in aid for his freedom of information work, and there are no plans to review this arrangement.

Prisoners

Henry Bellingham: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what the prisoner to officer ratio was at each prison establishment at the latest date for which figures are available; and if he will make a statement.

Maria Eagle: The prisoner to officer ratio for each prison at the end of October is shown in the table. This data is provisional and subject to in year validation.
	The following table shows the Prisoner to officer ratio at the end of October 2007.
	
		
			  Establishment name  Population  All Officer grades  Prisoner to officer ratio 
			 Acklington 876 236 3.71 - 1 
			 Albany 527 150 3.51 - 1 
			 Ashwell 540 104 5.19 - 1 
			 Askham Grange 113 29 3.90 - 1 
			 Aylesbury 443 182 2.43 - 1 
			 Bedford 484 152 3.18 - 1 
			 Belmarsh 914 520 1.76 - 1 
			 Birmingham 1,452 525 2.77 - 1 
			 Blakenhurst 1,069 259 4.13 - 1 
			 Blantyre House 119 36 3.31 - 1 
			 Blundeston 462 149 3.10 - 1 
			 Brinsford 470 245 1.92 - 1 
			 Bristol 604 230 2.63 - 1 
			 Brixton 806 220 3.66 - 1 
			 Brockhill 167 76 2.20 - 1 
			 Buckley Hall 382 107 3.57 - 1 
			 Bullingdon 966 235 4.11 - 1 
			 Bullwood Hall 178 77 2.31 - 1 
			 Camp Hill 598 161 3.71 - 1 
			 Canterbury 282 109 2.59 - 1 
			 Cardiff 755 257 2.94 - 1 
			 Castington 401 217 1.85 - 1 
			 Channings Wood 726 182 3.99 - 1 
			 Chelmsford 705 226 3.12 - 1 
			 Coldingley 390 96 4.06 - 1 
			 Dartmoor 638 175 3.65 - 1 
			 Deerbolt 449 188 2.39 - 1 
			 Dorchester 226 110 2.05 - 1 
			 Dover 308 123 2.50 - 1 
			 Downview 354 120 2.95 - 1 
			 Drake Hall 286 92 3.11 - 1 
			 Durham 949 333 2.85 - 1 
			 East Sutton Park 87 20 4.35 - 1 
			 Eastwood Park 333 152 2.19 - 1 
			 Edmunds Hill 361 126 2.87 - 1 
			 Erlestoke 403 114 3.54 - 1 
			 Everthorpe 672 177 3.80 - 1 
			 Exeter 484 188 2.57 - 1 
			 Featherstone 668 157 4.25 - 1 
			 Feltham 595 398 1.49 - 1 
			 Ford 468 58 8.07 - 1 
			 Foston Hall 265 153 1.73 - 1 
			 Frankland 724 593 1.22 - 1 
			 Full Sutton 581 478 1.22 - 1 
			 Garth 682 290 2.35 - 1 
			 Gartree 572 212 2.70 - 1 
			 Glen Parva 812 266 3.05 - 1 
			 Gloucester 302 123 2.46 - 1 
			 Grendon 530 142 3.73 - 1 
			 Guys Marsh 556 131 4.24 - 1 
			 Haslar 119 52 2.29 - 1 
			 Haverigg 556 141 3.94 - 1 
			 Hewell Grange 152 31 4.90 - 1 
			 High Down 746 243 3.07 - 1 
			 Highpoint 809 188 4.30 - 1 
			 Hindley 504 224 2.25 - 1 
			 Hollesley Bay 322 52 6.19 - 1 
			 Holloway 469 267 1.76 - 1 
			 Holme House 1,005 308 3.26 - 1 
			 Hull 1,035 331 3.13 - 1 
			 Huntercombe 360 159 2.26 - 1 
			 Kennet 336 131 2.56 - 1 
			 Kingston 198 75 2.64 - 1 
			 Kirkham 539 93 5.80 - 1 
			 Kirklevington 224 45 4.98 - 1 
			 Lancaster 175 88 1.99 - 1 
			 Lancaster Farms 496 248 2.00 - 1 
			 Latchmere House 203 35 5.80 - 1 
			 Leeds 1,025 388 2.64 - 1 
			 Leicester 349 138 2.53 - 1 
			 Lewes 516 170 3.04 - 1 
			 Leyhill 397 74 5.36 - 1 
			 Lincoln 738 213 3.46 - 1 
			 Lindholme 1,018 249 4.09 - 1 
			 Littlehey 698 157 4.45 - 1 
			 Liverpool 1,389 418 3.32 - 1 
			 Long Lartin 416 368 1.13 - 1 
			 Low Newton 300 157 1.91 - 1 
			 Maidstone 479 156 3.07 - 1 
			 Manchester 1,240 504 2.46 - 1 
			 Moorland 1,038 333 3.12 - 1 
			 Morton Hall 347 114 3.04 - 1 
			 Mount 760 171 4.44 - 1 
			 New Hall 398 216 1.84 - 1 
			 North Sea Camp 273 58 4.71 - 1 
			 Northallerton 245 65 3.77 - 1 
			 Norwich 523 211 2.48 - 1 
			 Nottingham 555 224 2.48 - 1 
			 Onley 644 203 3.17 - 1 
			 Parkhurst 523 188 2.78 - 1 
			 Pentonville 1,150 370 3.11 - 1 
			 Portland 543 206 2.64 - 1 
			 Preston 733 263 2.79 - 1 
			 Ranby 1,040 259 4.02 - 1 
			 Reading 279 116 2.41 - 1 
			 Risley 1,084 290 3.74 - 1 
			 Rochester 391 172 2.27 - 1 
			 Send 207 77 2.69 - 1 
			 Sheppey Cluster 2,171 617 3.52 - 1 
			 Shepton Mallet 189 66 2.86 - 1 
			 Shrewsbury 329 111 2.96 - 1 
			 Stafford 670 174 3.85 - 1 
			 Stocken 661 176 3.76 - 1 
			 Stoke Heath 611 252 2.42 - 1 
			 Styal 452 196 2.31 - 1 
			 Sudbury 559 65 8.60 - 1 
			 Swansea 423 154 2.75 - 1 
			 Swinfen Hall 618 210 2.94 - 1 
			 Thorn Cross 228 119 1.92 - 1 
			 Usk\Prescoed 385 92 4.18 - 1 
			 Verne 590 117 5.04 - 1 
			 Wakefield 743 439 1.69 - 1 
			 Wandsworth 1,485 392 3.79 - 1 
			 Warren Hill 205 144 1.42 - 1 
			 Wayland 695 184 3.78 - 1 
			 Wealstun 842 206 4.09 - 1 
			 Wellingborough 640 178 3.60 - 1 
			 Werrington 144 84 1.71 - 1 
			 Wetherby 365 176 2.07 - 1 
			 Whatton 760 221 3.44 - 1 
			 Whitemoor 462 437 1.06 - 1 
			 Winchester 550 190 2.89 - 1 
			 Woodhill 815 430 1.90 - 1 
			 Wormwood Scrubs 1,254 320 3.92 - 1 
			 Wymott 1,054 277 3.81 - 1

Prisoners: Foreigners

Edward Garnier: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many foreign national prisoners are being held  (a) on indeterminate sentence for public protection after the expiry of their tariff,  (b) on life sentences after expiry of their tariff,  (c) on determinate sentences beyond the date at which they would be eligible for release or parole and  (d) beyond the expiry of their sentence.

David Hanson: Regarding  (a), and  (b), information on the numbers of prisoners held beyond their tariff is not available centrally as tariff is not recorded as part of the standard datasets. In order to determine the number of such prisoners who are foreign nationals would require examination of individual case files and could not be obtained without disproportionate cost. Regarding  (c), I refer the hon. Gentleman to the answer given on 15 October 2007,  Official Report, columns 754-5W, to the hon. Member for Weston-super-Mare (John Penrose).
	In regard to  (d) about time-served prisoners, information is not held centrally. It would also require the examination of case files and could not be obtained without disproportionate cost. I also refer the hon. Member to my answer on 29 October 2007,  Official Report, column 809W.

Prisons: Pay

Henry Bellingham: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice with reference to the answer of 16 May 2007,  Official Report, column 787W, on Prison Service: pay, for what reason the information on breaches of the regulations is not collected by HM Prison Service Professional Standards Unit Investigations Support Unit; and if he will make a statement.

Maria Eagle: The role of Investigation Support Section (ISS) is to record and track formal investigations when terms of reference are submitted by the Commissioning Manager.
	ISS allocates each investigation registered to a category and one such category is fraud. However, data is not stored in the format requested in the previous question and to provide it would incur disproportionate cost.

Child Benefit Agency: Expenditure

Philip Hammond: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how much the Child Benefit Agency has spent on  (a) potted plants,  (b) taxis and  (c) staff parties in the last five years for which figures are available.

Jane Kennedy: holding answer 27 November
	The information is as follows.
	 (a) Child Benefit Office has spent nothing on potted plants;
	 (b) Information is only available at disproportionate cost; and
	 (c) I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave him on 22 October 2007,  Official Report, column 29W.

Child Benefit: Personal Records

Christopher Chope: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what information from the Child Benefit database was requested by the National Audit Office from HM Revenue and Customs in October; and in what respect the information sent in response was more extensive that that requested.

Jane Kennedy: holding answer 26 November 2007
	There is an ongoing Metropolitan Police investigation into the matter, and the Chancellor has appointed Kieran Poynter, chair of PricewaterhouseCoopers, to investigate HMRC's security processes and procedures for data handling. As part of his review Kieran Poynter has been asked to produce an interim report by 14 December.

Child Benefit: Pregnant Women

Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer pursuant to his announcement of Child Benefits in Pregnancy in his 2006 Pre-Budget Speech, if he will place in the Library copies of  (a) representations he has received and  (b) minutes of meetings he has held on that policy since that date.

Jane Kennedy: Representations received on the Health in Pregnancy Grant since the 2006 pre-Budget report are contained in the Treasury's 14 November 2007 press notice on the grant, on the HM Treasury website. Treasury Ministers and officials have meetings with a wide variety of organisations in the public and private sectors as part of the process of policy development and delivery. As was the case with previous Administrations, it is not the Government's practice to provide details of all such meetings.

Members: Correspondence

James Arbuthnot: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer when he expects to reply to the letters from the right hon. Member for North East Hampshire of 23 June 2006, 1 September 2006, 29 November 2006 and 20 June 2007 on the tax credit problems of the right hon. Member's constituent Mrs. Adair.

Jane Kennedy: The chairman of HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) wrote to the right hon. Member about his constituent's case on 27 November.

National Insurance Contributions: Holiday Pay

Philip Hammond: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer 
	(1)  on what basis he decided to abolish the national insurance contributions exemption for holiday pay schemes outside the construction industry from 30 October 2007;
	(2)  what estimate he has made of the likely annual saving in National Insurance contributions for an employee with 20 days' annual leave earning  (a) £10,000,  (b) £15,000,  (c) £20,000 and  (d) £25,000 per annum who is a member of a holiday pay scheme and does not pay Class 1 National Insurance contributions on his holiday pay;
	(3)  how many employees are members of holiday pay schemes, broken down by employment sector;
	(4)  what proportion of the savings identified in the 2007 pre-Budget report/comprehensive spending review, Table B4, from the removal of the National Insurance contributions exemption for holiday pay schemes are attributable to  (a) employee and  (b) employer contributions;
	(5)  how many employees earning  (a) less than £10,000,  (b) £10,000 to £15,000,  (c) £15,000 to £20,000,  (d) £20,000 to £25,000 and  (e) more than £25,000 per annum are members of holiday pay schemes and not paying National Insurance contributions on their holiday pay;
	(6)  if he will place in the Library projections of the estimated change in Government revenue which will arise from the abolition of the National Insurance contributions exemption for holiday pay schemes in each year to 2015;
	(7)  what organisations his Department consulted prior to the announcement in the 2007 pre-Budget report/comprehensive spending review of the removal of the National Insurance contributions exemption for holiday pay schemes;
	(8)  what consideration he gave to abolishing the national insurance contributions exemption for holiday pay schemes on a phased basis; and what the reasons were for deciding not to proceed on that basis;
	(9)  what estimate he has made of the cost to employers outside the construction sector of ending holiday pay schemes by 30 October 2007.

Jane Kennedy: The NICs exemption was designed for the construction industry and dates back to the 1960s. This pre-dated the right to four weeks paid leave per year provided by the Working Time Regulation in 1998. The rationale for changes to the NICs exemption is set out in chapter five of the 2007 pre-Budget report and comprehensive spending review, PBR note 02 and impact assessment which can be found at:
	http://www.hm-treasury.gov.uk/media/B/9/pbr_csr07_chapters_244.pdf
	http://www.hm-treasury.gov.uk/media/5/3/pbr_csr07_notes520.pdf
	http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/pbr2007/ia-nics.pdf
	The following table shows estimated annual savings in 2008-09 in employee NICs for an employee with 20 days annual leave earning at various annual rates, who is a member of a holiday pay scheme.
	
		
			  Annual pay  Annual saving employee NICs (£) 
			 £10,000 40 
			 £15,000 80 
			 £20,000 125 
			 £25,000 165 
		
	
	HMRC does not hold information on the number of employees within holiday pay schemes broken down by employment sector.
	The following table shows how the savings identified in 2007 pre-Budget report Table 4, from the removal of the NICs exemption for holiday pay, are attributable to employee and employer contributions.
	
		
			  £ million 
			   2007-08  2008-09  2009-10  2010-11 
			 Employer' NICs 50 110 110 110 
			 Employee' NICs 50 90 90 90 
			 Total 100 200 200 200 
		
	
	HMRC does not hold information on the income of employees within holiday pay schemes.
	Definitive projections to 2015 are not available. An estimate of the revenue from the measure beyond that outlined in the Pre-Budget Report is stated in the Impact Assessment.
	HMRC held a number of meetings with representatives of the construction sector holiday pay funds and their professional advisers.

Personation

Martin Horwood: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what steps his Department is taking to reduce the vulnerability of tax correspondence to identify theft.

Jane Kennedy: HMRC initiated immediate increases in security with a new process:
	transfers will now only take place if they are absolutely necessary;
	written authorisation for the transfer has to be given by senior HMRC manager; and
	a clear instruction has been given regarding the appropriate standard of protection for the transfer.
	Where directors decide that a data transfer by disc is unavoidable such media must, in every case, be securely encrypted at the appropriate level.
	On 20 November the Chancellor announced an independent review of HMRC's data handling procedures to be conducted by Kieran Poynter, the chair of Price Waterhouse Coopers.

Public Expenditure: Wales

Adam Price: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer pursuant to the answer of 26 November 2007,  Official Report, column 57W, on public expenditure: Wales, what elements of spending in relation to subscriptions to international organisations are devolved; what transport programmes Cycling England spending is now subsumed within; and what the comparability factor of that programme is for Wales.

Andy Burnham: UK Departments pay subscriptions to international organisations on behalf of the United Kingdom as a whole. In some circumstances, the devolved Administrations may make a contribution towards a UK Department's expenditure on international subscriptions. Information relating to individual contributions could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.
	Expenditure previous recorded under The Cycling England programme is now carried within the Local Transport group of programmes. Annex C of the October 2007 edition of "Funding the Scottish Parliament, National Assembly for Wales and Northern Ireland Assembly: Statement of Funding Policy" shows this area of spending to be comparable in Wales. The SFP gives details of all comparability factors.

Smuggling: Convictions

Jeremy Browne: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many and what percentage of HM Revenue and Customs investigations into the smuggling of  (a) drugs,  (b) people,  (c) tobacco,  (d) alcohol and  (e) firearms resulted in a conviction in each of the last 10 years.

Jane Kennedy: holding answer 28 November 2007
	 High level data on investigations and convictions are published in HM Revenue and Customs' Annual Reports. Copies of the Annual Reports are available in the Library of the House. HM Revenue and Customs is not responsible for the investigation and prosecution of people smuggling offences.